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Court Reporter
The Royal Danish Embassy has donated 130 digital audio recording machines to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) since April last year worth over $900 000 to improve efficiency in the justice delivery system.

Of the 130 machines, 80 were handed over yesterday while the remainder were donated in April last year and will be distributed to courts country- wide.

Speaking at the handover ceremony at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts yesterday, JSC deputy secretary Mr Walter Chikwanha said the machines would make the work of judicial officers much easier.

The embassy and the JSC have a partnership which runs under the theme “Access to Justice”.

“On behalf of the JSC, we wish to express our most profound gratitude for the partnership which started a long time ago and we thank the Royal Danish Embassy for its kind ges- ture.

“The donation will go a long way in making the work of judicial officers much easier since they were using manually controlled machines. We want to assure them that these machines will be put to good use,” he said.

Mr Chikwanha urged members of the JSC who are going to use the machines to take advantage of technol- ogy.

“Let us see results coming through due to the use of this technologically advanced equipment,” he said.

Speaking at the same function, the chief registrar of the superior courts, Mr Munamato Mutevedzi – who was also the master of ceremony – said that digital recording provided easier and faster access to the record for judges, court staff, attorneys, transcribers and the public.

He added that the computer equipment for digital recording was reliable.

The Charge d’Affaires of the Royal Danish Embassy in Harare, Signe W. Albjerg, expressed confidence in the country’s justice system and pledged that her country would continue to complement JSC efforts in addressing the challenges faced.

“We started this partnership with JSC many years ago and we have confidence and trust in the country’s justice system and the rule of law. The machines are going to help mainly during appeals and also help in capturing all the court proceedings without omitting a word,” she said.

The JSC recently indicated that 30 courthouses are going to be constructed throughout the country in the next two years with the help of the Royal Danish Embassy.