Law Reform Commission of Tanzania seeks to improve efficiency

Written by DAILY NEWS Reporter

THE Chairman of the Law Reform Commission of Tanzania (LRCT), Prof Ibrahim Juma, has said that his commission is in the process of formulating a five-year strategic plan that will help in increasing efficiency.

Prof Juma who is also a Judge of the High Court was speaking during the closure of the LRCT seventh worker's council meeting over the weekend.

He called upon the commission staff to be efficient in executing their duties, saying the strategic plan will also help in making sure that all the tasks of the commission are worked upon on time.

"I believe that following the exercise of formulating a five-year strategic plan, we will be able to have a reliable strategy which is implementable," he said. Prof Juma noted that the commission's duties include among others time to time assessment of the existing laws and see whether there is need for reformation as well as ensuring that the existing laws are corresponding to the contemporary world.

He called upon workers to make sure that their duties are prudently fulfilled and that the budget of the commission is used precisely for intended activities to create confidence among stakeholders and the government. Prof Juma called upon all heads of department to ensure supervision of all staff and ensure that the work plan is implemented thoroughly.

He was optimistic that workers will start seeing improvements in most of the challenges facing them as the government has agreed to increase the budget of running the commission in the financial year 2012/2013. Early last week, lawyers working at the commission urged the Attorney General's office to reinstate them to their former status as state attorneys.

The Commission's Executive Secretary, Ms Winfrida Korosso noted that their case was made on the grounds that the lawyers at the commission work closely with the AG's office as per the law that establishes the commission. She said that the AG's office had on May, 2010 replied to their request, saying that it could not recognize them as they were not employed in that office.

"We would like to humbly reemphasize our request over the need to consider lawyers in the commission to serve at the same time as State Attorneys," she said. She added that serving as state attorneys will give them the opportunity to contribute in handling various cases in court on behalf of the government as it was once directed by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP)'s office that lawyers at the commission can help in defending the government.

The Deputy Attorney General, George Masaju admitted the fact that the two offices have been working very close and that the AG's office has attached much trust with the staff at the commission. Mr Masaju noted that it was vital for relations between the two offices to be cemented even further as most of the staff at the commission once worked at the AG's office.

Source; Daily News (22/10/2012): http://dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/10749-law-reform-commission-seeks-to-improve-efficiency