Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE
Principal Judge, Mr Mustapher Siyani, has directed all Deputy Registrars to fulfill their responsibilities effectively in order to stimulate judicial developments and timely dispensation of justice to the people.Speaking at a session held on Thursday in Dar es Salaam after administering oaths of 27 new Registrars, Mr Siyani equated them with an engine or heart that is important in pushing for development that are required to be done in the judiciary.
“The judiciary will rely heavily on you, as the Deputy Registrar I compare you with two things. If we are talking about a vehicle, you are the engine or machine that enables that vessel to move from one place to another, and if I compare you with living organ you are the heart,” he told the new registrars.
According to him, there is no vehicle or living organism that could move from one place to another if the engine or heart does not work. Thus, he urged those leaders to fulfill their responsibilities fully, to be an example of accountability and to demonstrate their competence by working hard.
“Show that it is now the right time for you to be appointed Deputy Registrar after many years of serving the Judiciary of Tanzania and those who made that appointment were not wrong,” Mr Siyani said.
The principal judge urged the Deputy Registrars to oversee the improvement of judicial services as they are all aware of the direction in which the Judiciary of Tanzania was going, including moving towards full judicial online services.
“Be the drivers of that improvement journey towards full judicial online service. You know three years from now until 2025 we have to get rid of using papers in judicial services. Technology should be our basis of working and those who will oversee or be our drivers are you,”he told the registrars.
In addition, the Principal Judge reminded them that they were going to various registries, some of which have piled up of cases, thus are required to work closely with Judges and Magistrates to tackle or do away with long pending cases.
“Here there is a perception that the Registrar does not have the opportunity to help eliminate the backlog. The fact is that all the plans that will enable one registry to get rid of the piling up of cases starts with the Deputy Registrar present in that registry,”he said.
Therefore, it was his position that if there would be High Court Zone or lower court somewhere with backlog of cases, the first person to be held accountable is the Deputy Registrar because he or she is the supervising officer.
He also reminded them to refer to various documents issued by Chief Justice and Principal Judge’s office for various instructions on how they should perform their duties, warning them not to celebrate their appointments because the work they are going to do was not easy, instead they should be prepare.
However, Mr Siyani congratulated them all on their nomination which was based on their performance and competence and that all the nominees deserved to hold such position. He told them that they had been given great responsibilities, so the judiciary relied heavily on them.
“You have taken the oath of office as Deputy Registrar and the main responsibility is the management of cases at the High Court, the Court of Appeal and all other Courts. “Go and read the duties of the Deputy Registrar which are well defined, understand them and then go to work,” he directed the registrars.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Registrar, Mr Wilbert Chuma, revealed that the selection of the Deputy Registrars followed a long process that involved, for the first, an interview and all those who were sworn in were able to pass all the set criteria, thus eligible to hold the post.
“You are one of the many who, in one way or another, wished to be here today. But for one reason or another they could not be among the selection. Perhaps I should say that it is good time for those who aspired to be here to reorganize themselves and work hard, “he said.
The swearing-in ceremony was also attended by Chief Justice, Prof. Ibrahimu Juma, various Judges of the High Court, including the Judge in Charge, Dar es Salaam Zone, Mr Amir Mruma, Court of Registrar Kelvin Mhina, Court of Appeal Administrator Solanus Nyimbi, Registrars and various Administrators.
For More News And Analysis About Tanzania Follow Africa-Press
