Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi has called for the injection of more funds in order to build and equip courts, given that the conditions of some of the country’s courts are inadequate for the decent administration of justice.
The President was speaking on Thursday morning during the laying of the first stone for the construction of the new headquarters building of the Supreme Court, in the centre of Maputo City. The new building is budgeted at 3.8 billion meticais (about 60 million dollars, at the current exchange rate).
“On the one hand, we want to continue to implement our desire to build and equip the infrastructure for the administration of justice. On the other hand, from the visits that we have been making, we have noticed that there is a lack of space for the professionals of the justice sector to be able to carry out their functions in a dignified manner. Therefore, we have observed that more resources should be injected into equipping the institutions, and not only financially”, Nyusi said.
The judicial power, the President stressed, deserves to have modern, facilities similar to the legislative and executive powers.
“We have seen that there is a lack of decent conditions for the officials. The current conditions are inadequate for the growth of the institution”, he said, adding that the new building comes at a time when this year marks the 45th anniversary of the judicial organization in Mozambique.
“Access to justice is a fundamental right of all citizens”, declared Nyusi. “The government, in its five-year programme, has decided to ensure the proper functioning of justice institutions. Because we recognize the role of the judiciary in consolidating the democratic rule of law, the construction of the Supreme Court headquarters building is a reason for great honour and satisfaction”.
Under the “One District One Court” initiative, he continued, “we have been able to build courts in the districts, all over the country, as well as registry and notary offices, provincial public prosecutors’ offices and residences for magistrates.’
“This will certainly be an iconic building in our capital city”, Nyusi claimed. “It is a public investment that certainly contributes to the major common strategic goals of the government and the law courts”.
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