Samia’s directives to state attorneys
President Samia Suluhu Hassan presses a button to launch the official electronic system of the Office of the Attorney General Management Information System during the General Meeting of State Attorneys in Dodoma yesterday. Centre is Attorney General Eliezer Feleshi and right is Constitution and Legal Affairs minister Damas Ndumbaro. PHOTO | STATE HOUSE
What you need to know:
- Among other things, she directs that no public contract must be signed without involving the Attorney General’s Office
Dar es Salaam. President Samia Suluhu Hassan yesterday highlighted huge gaps in public legal practice as she issued a raft of directives to state attorneys to ensure improved justice delivery and elimination of legal disputes.
She directed state attorneys to ensure they safeguard Tanzania’s investment and business interests, create legal awareness among members of the public as well as improve efficiency in justice delivery.
Ms Hassan was speaking yesterday as she graced a state attorneys general meeting--which was live broadcast--in Dodoma.
She insisted that state attorneys must execute their mandate as public defenders to protect national economic interests.
“We have opened up the economy, and there is an influx of foreign investments; hence, whenever there is an occurrence of a legal dispute or when an investor faces legal challenges, you should be able to effectively and professionally tackle them in a timely manner,” she directed.
“I understand that you may be wondering whether the economy of the State if any of your concerns. It is. Unlike soldiers who carry guns to protect the country, you do it with your pen and the legal skills you possess,” President Hassan insisted.
She noted that the government had huge expectations that state attorneys would keep committed to reducing loads of court cases.
In highlighting the existing gap in the coordination of legal matters within the government, Ms Hassan ordered that all public contracts must involve the Attorney General’s (AG) Office.
The Head of State noted with concerns that in the past, some State contracts were entered without involving the AG’s only to cause unnecessary disputes during which the office was asked to intervene.
“It may happen that those who witnessed the signing could have had passed away or retired, making it difficult for the government to mend things,” she revealed.
She directed state attorneys to ensure that they all completed formal registration in the government systems, saying that currently 2,652 attorneys only had done so.
“Mobile them all to get registered, otherwise, we’ll not recognize them as state attorneys,” directed the President.
She challenged lawyers to execute their duty of creating awareness on legal matters to the public in line with what Constitution and Legal Affairs minister Damas Ndumbaro had said.
The minister had revealed that his ministry was starting a special programme aimed at providing sustainable legal aid to communities and individuals that cannot afford the costs.
“We’ll make this programme sustainable and we will seek the support from lawyers’ associations to provide legal aid, especially to those who cannot afford legal advice,” said Dr Ndumbaro.
The minister noted that state attorneys were like soldiers responsible with protecting the justice delivery system, including protecting integrity in contract matters and dispute resolution.
“It is a great honour to be a state attorney, we should all commit ourselves to serving the public within the laws of the land,” he said.
At the event, Ms Hassan launched the state attorneys’ body dubbed The Public Bar Association, a new logo for the AG Office and the Office of Attorney General Management Information System (OAGMIS).
