Minister woos lawyers to Mtwara
Written by ROSE ATHUMANI
THE Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Mr Mathias Chikawe, has challenged law firms to open businesses in the Mtwara Corridor.
Minister Chikawe, who paid a visit to the new Law School of Tanzania (LST) in the company of his Deputy Minister, Ms Angela Kairuki, said in the next few years the Mtwara Corridor will be matching Dar es Salaam in terms of development.
He said Mtwara is an area where lawyers should open legal firms and establish themselves now, noting that legal representation in the area will be in high demand in the near future. "However, you will be surprised that every lawyer wants to practise in Dar es Salaam when there is such a big opportunity in Mtwara and elsewhere in the regions," he explained.
Mr Chikawe said legal representation is also needed in villages in every region in the country, noting that LST graduates will also be in a position to compete and get employment in the East Africa region. He explained that his ministry has set aside some finances this year for loans to students at the LST, whose administration is handled by the institution's board.
The LST was established in 2007 and construction of the first phase began in 2010 at a cost of 16.1bn/- from the government and donors. The second phase of the project that will include the construction of the centre for continuing legal education, will start as soon as money is available.
Minister Chikawe advised that while discussions between his ministry and the Aga Khan were still going on to have the institution access a road through the Aga Khan Foundation area, through Sam Nujoma road, efforts should be taken to urge the Kinondoni district authorities to upgrade the Sinza Road towards the institution.
"The good thing with having the Sinza Road upgraded is that it will not only benefit the law school but also the public in general," Mr Chikawe explained.
Mr Chikawe said his ministry is very pleased with the good progress of the LST, noting that it is the only project under the Legal Sector Reform Programme (LSRP) that has done well. The LST project, whose structural design was done by a Tanzanian Architecture Aloyse Mushi, has ultra modern buildings including an administration block, Library and a Teaching Court that will be under the Judiciary of Tanzania.
Earlier, while briefing the minister and his deputy, the LST Principal Dr Gerald Ndika said road infrastructure, vandalism and pilfering are major challenges facing the new Law School of Tanzania (LST). Dr Ndika who is also a Judge in the High Court of Tanzania, explained that due to lack of an accessible road, the nearest and good conditioned road previously accessed by the Institution through Sam Nujoma has been closed by the owners, the Aga Khan Foundation.
"The road passing through the Aga Khan Foundation is the only one that was in good condition, but that has been closed by the owners, the remaining are in a horrible state," Dr Ndika explained. He said efforts by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs with Aga Khan Foundation are still going on, to allow LST use the road passing through the Foundation.
Dr Ndika also noted that vandalism and pilfering is also taking place at the LST, adding that toilet sets and water pipes are being stolen. He said one toilet set which has been ordered from Germany costs more than 700,000/-, noting that those stealing are causing major loss to the institution.
The institution, he explained, has been forced to incur costs of revamping security around the buildings and to weld in, water pipes to discourage the thieves. Expounding on LST, Dr Ndika said because of lack of buildings, the institution started by operating at the University of Dar es Salaam in 2008 on contract agreement before moving to the new buildings recently.
He said once the institution completes the remaining two per cent of the work; it will have a capacity to enroll 2,000 students per year from between 500 to 600 enrolled previously. The institute will instill the law graduates with practical aspects of the legal profession, on pleadings and how legal related issues are handled in practice and doing away with the bar exams.
Before its establishment, aspiring lawyers were trained in practical skills through an internship programme run by the Attorney General's Chambers and were to undergo a bar exams before being allowed to practise law. However, students from the LST, once they graduate will go straight to practising law, since the practical skills will be covered at the institution.
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