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Faith Katete-Herald Reporter

The modernisation of the courts through technology will improve access to justice and enhance the efficiencies within the justice delivery system, Information, Communication Technology Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere said yesterday.

Speaking during a training workshop for judges in Harare, Dr Muswere said technology was critical in all sectors of the country, especially as Government has stepped up efforts to attain an upper middle income society by 2030.

 In this case, he said, technologies were relevant to the judiciary system in facilitating the delivery of legal services to communities in this digital age.

Government, through the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), has identified the digital economy as one of the key priorities in turning around the country’s economy.

“For the judiciary services, it is incumbent that at this particular time when you are implementing the Case Management System, all the judges and other staff are trained in ICTs in order to effectively use the system,” said Dr Muswere.

“The system will be a useful tool for text creation, storage and retrieval of information, improved access to the law, recording of court proceedings, management of judiciary administrative systems and communication, among other areas.”

 Dr Muswere said the training of judges in the use of technology dovetailed with the aspirations of the Government in its quest to have a digitally literate population in the journey to become an upper middle income society by the year 2030.

 “In their pervasive nature, ICTs are therefore transforming all sectors of the economy and have become the cornerstone for increased productivity, efficiency and effectiveness across all sectors,” he said.

The training of the judges came at a time when Government was putting in place initiatives to ensure the majority of citizens are digitally literate as the country makes strides towards becoming a significant player in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

 At least 11 judges drawn from all the country’s superior courts attended the training workshop and got certificates of competency.