Windhoek
State President Dr Hage Geingob has reassured the judicial fraternity and the country as a whole that government is still and has always been committed to an efficient and effective administration of justice.
He said this when he officially opened the legal year 2016 at the Supreme Court yesterday. In line with the legacy of peace and justice set down by his predecessors, Geingob said, his administration would continue to promote the rule
of law above arbitrary use of governmental power, as the citizens of an independent Namibia have chosen.
He applauded the progress made so far in the attainment of justice for all, especially the recently introduced alternative dispute resolution process.
According to the president he is pleased with the achievements of the past year. Geingob said that although there has been an exponential improvement in justice delivery in Namibia it is not perfect yet, but there is “concrete proof we are continuing the process of perfecting the system. I believe that if we continue working together in the spirit of camaraderie with the ethos of Harambee, we will one day have a justice system that will be the envy of much older democracies around the world.”
He said that last December he signed the Judiciary Act into law, augmenting the independence of the judiciary.
This, he said, “means that our judiciary has a lot to offer”. He quoted Martin Luther King Junior who said,
‘Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.’
According to Geingob, legal professionals are not only the gatekeepers of justice, but also play a significant role as enablers of social progress.
Therefore, he said, they must exhibit the most robust of moral fabric in order to ensure they don’t become the dangerously structured dams that will stifle the dreams and aspirations of the populace and in turn social progress.
He told the gathering of legal professionals that it is anticipated that new bills such as the New Equitable Economic Empowerment Framework; on laws prohibiting development; on private public partnerships, and pertaining to land and housing matters that are intended to improve the livelihood of vulnerable communities will enter the public arena over the next few months.
“The poor in this country need us. Persons with disabilities remain marginalised. There is much more work we need to do for the safety of our women and children. The situation in our country is not bad but it needs a radical intervention going forward.
Justice will mean nothing if it does not create a socially just society,” he said. This is where the legal profession comes in, Geingob stated, and called on the profession in its entirety, including academia, represented by the Faculty of Law at the University of Namibia, to make their voices heard.
The president said he wants the profession to lead the way and wants to see more critical analysis and researched works from the profession.