Bulawayo- Attorney General Johannes Tomana has warned that poor working conditions for his office could affect the effectiveness of prosecutors.
Tomana, who presented the keynote address at the annual general meeting of the Zimbabwe Law Officers Association held last weekend in Bulawayo, told prosecutors that law officers should be well remunerated to avoid any enticement.
“We (prosecutors) should get a living wage enough to live decent lives. Enough to send your children to school so that we ignore the kind of temptation to sell our mandate,” said Tomana.
In March the AG disclosed before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal Affairs, Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs that his office had become a training ground as law officers were leaving the public service to join private practice once they gained experience.
“We will never be effective as long as the conditions of service are not addressed. We need to address the issue of accommodation, transport and a living salary,” Tomana said. The AG said that during an inspection of several of his stations he observed that prosecutors were struggling to make ends meet.
“I have unfortunately seen one sorry state at one station where a prosecutor wore a torn shirt. The collar was torn and that (prosecutor) is the face of our pillar. The shoe really was gone and I understood why. So the government should cushion the institution from all vulnerabilities. If we are unable to guarantee the accommodation of prosecutors we haven’t done enough,” said Tomana. Legal Monitor
