. . . but more work needed to improve accessibility
Most of Zimbabwe’s court users are satisfied with the country’s judicial system, according to a survey by East West Management Institute that tracked
In the survey, that tracked 785 court users – both male (336) and female (449) – found the overall user satisfaction rate across all the country’s regions to hover around 82% – “an expression of contentment with the court’s means and convenience of communications”.
“The user satisfaction rate across the five regions – Bulawayo, Gweru, Harare, Masvingo and Mutare – was 82.55%,” said Dr Tarisayi Mutangi, lead researcher in the Partnership for Justice survey in partnership with the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) and the Legal Resources Foundation (LRF.)
“Most court users – individually and collectively, judicial officer, court staff, or other employee and or contractor of Clerk’s Office within the scope of his or her job responsibilities – expressed satisfaction with the court’s means and convenience of communication between the court and users,” he said during the dissemination of the survey findings in the capital recently.
In the research, Bulawayo had the most satisfied court users regarding availability and clarity of information at 84,81% followed by Masvingo (79,46%), then Harare 78.18%. Gweru and Mutare had 75,66% and 74,02 respectively.
Although court users generally expressed respect and held a positive perception of the professional competence of magistrates and public prosecutors, Dr Mutangi emphasized, “there is room for improvement in certain regions” and aspects – especially in those geographical regions serving a large rural catchment where distance is a major challenge.
“The findings show that while court users report a high perceived appreciation of the justice system, there are challenges with regards to the cost of accessing justice,” he said, explaining (that) the “radius served by the courts, transport cost, court fees and legal aid all impacted on justice delivery”.
“It is crucial to address these areas with lower satisfaction levels for improved court user communication experience,” he explained.
While these challenges continue to face the sector, there is an element of positivity that the sector is moving in the right direction, weighs in Dorcas Makaza, chief of party at EWMI.
“Looking at our operating environment, we need to interrogate the supply and demand through increasing citizen awareness and access to enhance the justice delivery system,” said Makaza.
“People should be at the centre of the justice delivery system so that the person is the core beneficiary but without necessarily compromising the quality of justice so delivered.”
