The Law Reform Commission (LRC) has raised concern over the government’s slow pace in implementing legal reform proposals by the commission, saying only 13 out of 32 recommendations were worked on during the past 30 years.
Deputy Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Angela Kairuki
LRC Chairman Justice Aloysius Mujulizi told reporters in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday that the low level of response to the recommendations by his commission was demoralising.
He was speaking at a press briefing on the commission’s 30 years of existence since 1983.But, when reached for comment, the Deputy Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Ms Angellah Kairuki, said reforming a law needed a long process.
“LRC’s recommendations cannot be worked upon overnight, the government has several procedures to follow in making or reforming a law,” she said.
She was, however, quick to add that not all the laws were her ministry, saying she would be in a position to comment further after learning which particular laws fell under her ministry.
Earlier, Justice Mujulizi said: “Our work ends in sending reports to the responsible ministries but we are not allowed to go an extra mile in pushing for implementation; as a result most of our recommendations have not been worked upon,” he said.
He added that the recommendations result from the fact that the current system in the legal sector was not people-oriented, with many laws in technical jargon.
“There are challenges that we are working on, and one is that of technical language in our laws which makes them difficult to be understood by the people,” he said.
Judge Mujulizi, who is also a judge of the High Court, added that it was unfair to state that “ignorance of the law is not a defence” while some laws were not in a simple and clear language to all.
“We have worked on the number of laws, translating them into Kiswahili for people to read and understand but the challenge is still there as many laws are still in English,” he said.
He added “Our focus here is to address issues that rise from the community and their concerns on the shortfall of the existing laws. We have being doing our work in partnership with citizens and they are always our key stakeholders,” he said.
Judge Mujulizi said that the commission has gone through number of challenges in addressing the ever changing political, economic and social settings.
“We will work hard in addressing emerging gaps that are coming with contemporary political, social and economic settings,” he said.
He emphasised that having in place good laws would not help the country move forward unless such laws emanated from the people themselves and the people were ready to ensure that they prevailed.
The Commission’s Secretary, Ms Winfrida Korosso, said the commission had people at the centre of every undertaking.
“We have been giving our recommendations on law reforms after having done thorough consultation with citizens. We want laws to reflect the people’s will,” she said.
She added that the commission had been spending much time in reviewing a law because of the need to involve as many people as possible.
The celebrations are expected to reach their climax tomorrow, with a stakeholders’ meeting expected to be held in Dar es Salaam. President Jakaya Kikwete is expected to grace the occasion.
By ABDULWAKIL SAIBOKO, Tanzania Daily News
