By Kuvee Kangueehi Windhoek In light of reports of overcrowded police cells and prisons, Prosecutor-General Martha Imalwa announced on Friday that her office is on an ‘operation clean-up’ all over the country to address the issue. Imalwa said the situation has been caused by cases being postponed indefinitely, petty cases being taken to court and no proper screening of dockets. She said she will spearhead the operation that will be carried out by highly dedicated and competent members from her office. “Cases are just not being finalized speedily and, as a result, we have this situation.” Two teams, each consisting of four advocates from the PG’s office, accompanied by a deputy Chief of the Lower Courts, will be in operation on the ground. She noted that the purpose of the operation is to see exactly what is happening on the ground and to deal with unnecessary cases on the rolls, to screen the dockets, to compile a concise and detailed report for the government in order to assist the government in addressing the burning issue. She warned that if no action is taken, the criminal justice system will collapse and the reviving thereof will be a daunting task. The PG also announced that her office has lanuched its specialized units at the end of last year. However, the units are not fully operational due to lack of human and financial resources, but Imalwa is confident that the units will achieve the objectives. She urged the government to extend her establishment and to increase the remuneration packages of her personnel. “We are faced with the challenge of reducing crime which is on the increase, violence is continuing unabated and the criminals become more sophisticated in their schemes and operations.” The PG said there is an urgent need to equip the prosecutors and invest in them as public defenders, protecting the interest of the nation. The first unit is that of training and capacity-building, and is being headed by Rolanda Gertze. This unit is responsible for the training of prosecutors in order to equip and enhance their productivity and output in the prosecution of crimes. The second unit is that of General Management, Administration and Statistics headed by Eileen Rakow. The PG said this unit is very important in order to have a realistic projection of what the courts are dealing with. “This unit is guiding us in achieving our objectives in that our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are identified through a proper management model and administration.” Orben Sibeya is the head of the Money-Laundering, Corruption, Asset Forfeiture and Extradition Unit. Imalwa said Namibia has been bombarded by alleged criminals from foreign states seeking refuge in the country as well as Namibians committing horrific crimes and white-collar crimes, then evading justice by fleeing to other countries. The PG said the unit would lead her office to the realization of the ideal of confiscating assets and the subsequent forfeiture of assets acquired through crime. The other units are Commercial Crime Unit, Serious Crime Unit, Sexual Offences, the Domestic Violence Maintenance Unit and the General Offences Unit. She further announced that her office is focused on setting up a National Criminal Justice Forum in the country. The office has already identified the stakeholders who should be part of this endeavour. The PG said one of the major constraints in achieving and promoting justice is that all parties in the justice system are each operating in isolation. “There is no coherence in decision-taking, and the operation of each and every office is done without complementing the broader picture, and thus it is high time we followed a consolidated approach and that we unite against this fight against crime,” she said.