Over 25 mln Tanzanians cannot access judiciary services: chief justice

DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's Chief Justice Ibrahim Juma said on Tuesday more than 25 million Tanzanians out of a population of 50 million could not access judiciary services due to lack of courts.

"Statistics for the Judiciary action plan indicate that court services are not easily accessed by more than 25 million Tanzanians," said Juma at the inauguration of the Bagamoyo district court in the east African nation's Coast region.

"But, we are tackling this problem by building more courts in various parts of the country," said the chief justice.

He said ongoing improvements in facilities under the judiciary were aimed at increasing access of the services by members of the public, and ensuring justice was delivered in convenient time.

On Monday the chief justice also inaugurated a World Bank-funded training and information resource center to improve the efficiency and transparency of the judiciary.

Juma said the construction of the training center was part of the World Bank's support to Tanzania's five-year strategic plan to achieve citizen-centric judicial modernization.

Juma said the center will offer training programs in legal, administrative and judicial topics and law reform areas for about 900 judicial officers and about 6,000 court staff in the judiciary.

"It will help upgrade skills that are necessary to cut backlogs and delays in hearing of cases, and improve service provision to citizens," said the chief justice.

World Bank Country Director for Tanzania Bella Bird said that as Tanzania moves toward a middle-income status, it is extremely important to underscore the pivotal role that the judiciary plays in achieving social and economic development.

The World Bank allocated 65 million U.S. dollars for the Citizen-Centric Judicial Modernization and Justice Service Delivery Project.

An effective justice system is critical for fighting corruption, improving accountability and transparency, and delivering better public services that the citizens of Tanzania need, especially women, the poor and generally the vulnerable segments of the population," she said. Enditem