ZANZIBAR’S good governance Minister Haroun Ali Suleiman says that developing a moral compass in children and the youth is a responsibility that should be shared among all people, starting from the family level.
“If we are to stop our children and youth from engaging in illegal drugs business and using it, everyone should be committed to shape them. This task involves us all, not the government alone,” Mr Suleiman said here on Saturday at the climax of the Legal Aid Week.
He said the family, educational institutions, the government and the community at large, including NGOs, each has a role to play in promoting and supporting the development of the individuals, particularly the ability of young people, to judge what is right and wrong.
He informed the gathering at the Sheikh Idriss Abdulwakil memorial Hall in Kikwajuni, that immorality in the society, particularly bad behavior among young people, is to blame for rape, other sexual offences, and other crimes in the country.
Mr Suleiman-State Minister, President’s Office-Public Service and Good Governance, commended organisers of the ‘Legal Aid Week’, saying it was a timely event, and important in encouraging people, mainly the ordinary citizens to use the legal system, starting with paralegals in search justice.
“This the first time ever to organize such event, which comes after having the Legal Aid service Act in place and the department of ‘Legal Aid Services’ under the Ministry of Constitution and Legal Affairs. This is about promoting human rights, thanks to President Ali Mohamed Shein’s personal initiative,” he said.
Poems and drama portraying the importance of seeking justice through legal system decorated the climax of the ‘Legal Aids Service Week’ which was also attended by the Minister for Constitutional and Legal Affairs, Mr Khamis Juma Mwalim, directors from the ministry, officers from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Kadhi’s Court; pressure groups (Zanzibar Legal Services Centre-ZLSC) and paralegals.
The minister said the ‘Legal Aid Service Week’ is in implementation of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), 2015- 2020 election manifesto and that the government under Dr Ali Mohammed Shein, is committed to ensure that citizens are aware of the legal aid services use it in pursuit of justice.
During the week, people were educated about the availability of free legal aid services and how to access it; prisoners were visited in prisons (reformatory centres), and outreach programs on legal aid in rural areas were conducted.
Other activities at the climax were the launch of ‘Legal Aid Database System (LADS)’ or e-registration of paralegals in the country, along with the induction of the legal Aid Act in a simplified language.
The Constitution and Legal Affairs Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr George Joseph Kazi and Director-Legal Aid Department Ms Hanifa Ramadhan Said, emphasized on the importance of ensuring access to justice for poor people and expressed gratitude for the development of the paralegals in the country.
