Chief Justice Luke Malaba on Monday pleaded with the government to improve the working conditions of judges and magistrates in order to preserve their dignity.
Justice Malaba said that judges should be prioritised in the allocation of scarce foreign currency.
Speaking during the official opening of a new Labour Court building in Harare, near Rotten Row magistrates court, the Chief Justice said:
We are concerned about the conditions of service for judges and magistrates. Some of our judges are yet to receive their conditions of service motor vehicles.
We do appreciate Your Excellency the scarcity of foreign currency.
It is necessary that some allocations be prioritised, acquisition of conditions of service vehicles for judges.
In the same vein, most of our magistrates have no accommodation of their own and vehicles. They are having to hike for transport from potential litigants.
As JSC (Judicial Service Commission), we continue to look at ways in which we can ameliorate these difficulties so that judges and magistrates can concentrate on the core business of presiding over matters.