Legal Aid battling ‘cash-flow’ problems

LAWYERS involved in cases in which they are instructed by the Directorate of Legal Aid have been asked to delay the start of any new trials until early 2009.

In a letter that the Director of Legal Aid, Vero Mbahuurua, sent to the Law Society of Namibia and legal practitioners on October 3, lawyers holding legal aid instructions have been asked to postpone or adjourn all legal aid matters to early next year, because the Directorate is “in the process of cash-flow adjustments”. Lawyers can proceed with cases that are partly heard, or where trial dates in the remainder of this year have already been set, but cases not yet set down for hearing should be postponed to early next year, Mbahuurua informed the Law Society and lawyers who receive instructions from the Legal Aid Directorate to represent people in Namibia’s courts.Mbahuurua’s letter was raised before Judge Louis Muller during the pre-trial hearings of a set of criminal cases in the High Court on Thursday last week.Judge Muller indicated that the issue was a source of concern for the court, and that it had been discussed with Judge President Petrus Damaseb as well.With Mbahuurua present in court, Judge Muller asked him for an explanation.Mbahuurua told the Judge that it was unfortunate that the court had been chosen for the issue to be raised, instead of it being taken up directly with the Directorate.He said if any lawyers holding instructions from the Legal Aid Directorate were not prepared to wait to be paid for their services, they could withdraw from the cases in which they are acting, and that the Directorate would then instruct other lawyers who are prepared to wait for payment.With court rolls for the rest of this year already full, new trials in the High Court and in the Windhoek Regional Court at least are in any event being set down to be heard only next year.Mbahuurua told The Namibian on Friday that the problem experienced by his Directorate was not that its budget for the current financial year had run out, but that the budget had to be rearranged, mainly because of recent developments with the payment of defence lawyers instructed by the Directorate to represent the people being prosecuted in the main Caprivi high treason trial.The Directorate agreed at the beginning of October, after five of the nine defence lawyers in the treason trial hinted that they might decide to withdraw from the trial if the Directorate did not bring their pay on par with the fees being paid to their Namibian fellow defence counsel, to pay all nine defence lawyers in the trial on the same scale.The non-Namibian lawyers in the trial have been paid less than their Namibian colleagues since they took on the defence of the treason trial accused in April 2003.Mbahuurua told The Namibian that the treason trial was taking up a large chunk of his Directorate’s budget.The Directorate has a contractual obligation to pay the treason trial defence lawyers’ fees, he said.Mbahuurua said it was not correct to claim that the Legal Aid Directorate was now responsible for delaying trials.He noted that the cases that were dealt with at the pre-trial hearings in the High Court last week would in any event be set down for trial only during next year.The Legal Aid Directorate has a budget of N$17,8 million for the 2008-09 financial year, which ends at the end of March 2009.Of this budget, about N$10 million is allocated for the payment of the fees of lawyers who receive instructions from the Directorate, Mbahuurua said.More than half of that portion of the budget is taken up by the costs of the defence for the 117 men being prosecuted in the treason trial, he indicated.Lawyers can proceed with cases that are partly heard, or where trial dates in the remainder of this year have already been set, but cases not yet set down for hearing should be postponed to early next year, Mbahuurua informed the Law Society and lawyers who receive instructions from the Legal Aid Directorate to represent people in Namibia’s courts.Mbahuurua’s letter was raised before Judge Louis Muller during the pre-trial hearings of a set of criminal cases in the High Court on Thursday last week.Judge Muller indicated that the issue was a source of concern for the court, and that it had been discussed with Judge President Petrus Damaseb as well.With Mbahuurua present in court, Judge Muller asked him for an explanation.Mbahuurua told the Judge that it was unfortunate that the court had been chosen for the issue to be raised, instead of it being taken up directly with the Directorate.He said if any lawyers holding instructions from the Legal Aid Directorate were not prepared to wait to be paid for their services, they could withdraw from the cases in which they are acting, and that the Directorate would then instruct other lawyers who are prepared to wait for payment.With court rolls for the rest of this year already full, new trials in the High Court and in the Windhoek Regional Court at least are in any event being set down to be heard only next year.Mbahuurua told The Namibian on Friday that the problem experienced by his Directorate was not that its budget for the current financial year had run out, but that the budget had to be rearranged, mainly because of recent developments with the payment of defence lawyers instructed by the Directorate to represent the people being prosecuted in the main Caprivi high treason trial.The Directorate agreed at the beginning of October, after five of the nine defence lawyers in the treason trial hinted that they might decide to withdraw from the trial if the Directorate did not bring their pay on par with the fees being paid to their Namibian fellow defence counsel, to pay all nine defence lawyers in the trial on the same scale.The non-Namibian lawyers in the trial have been paid less than their Namibian colleagues since they took on the defence of the treason trial accused in April 2003.Mbahuurua told The Namibian that the treason trial was taking up a large chunk of his Directorate’s budget.The Directorate has a contractual obligation to pay the treason trial defence lawyers’ fees, he said.Mbahuurua said it was not correct to claim that the Legal Aid Directorate was now responsible for delaying trials.He noted that the cases that were dealt with at the pre-trial hearings in the High Court last week would in any event be set down for trial only during next year.The Legal Aid Directorate has a budget of N$17,8 million for the 2008-09 financial year, which ends at the end of March 2009.Of this budget, about N$10 million is allocated for the payment of the fees of lawyers who receive instructions from the Directorate, Mbahuurua said.More than half of that portion of the budget is taken up by the costs of the defence for the 117 men being prosecuted in the treason trial, he indicated.