The Chief Registrar, HW Sarah Langa Siu (L) and The Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Judiciary, Dr Pius Bigirimana
The Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Judiciary, Dr Pius Bigirimana, urged members of the Administration of Justice Programme (AJP) to acquaint themselves with the language of Swahili in the next six months. This, he said was to prepare them for the upcoming meetings that will be conducted in Swahili as per the Government directives and guidelines.
Dr Bigirimana said this during an AJP Working Group Meeting that he chaired at the Judiciary headquarters on March 29, 2023. The purpose of the meeting was to review and present the progress of the sub-programme results of the performance of the first half in FY 2022-2023 under the AJP. This was in preparation for the production of the Annual Programme Performance Report expected by August 2023.
The meeting was also set to build a strong programme performance management system, strengthen the use of evidence for decision-making across AJP, inform the production of the National Development Plan III, and track the progress of both the final and intermediate outcomes.
The PS/SJ emphasized to the members the need to conceptualize information about how the Administration of Justice Program works. He noted that while the Leadership Committee led by the Chief Justice meets twice a year, the Programme Working Group, attended by accounting officers is held on a quarterly basis. The Technical Working Group on the other hand is held monthly.
A presentation of the emerging issues from the Technical Working Groups was made by Mr Oboro Julius Caesar who noted challenges such as poor access to justice by juveniles and other vulnerable groups. He highlighted the need to bring onboard legal aid service providers on the Programme, data gaps and in adequate reporting by Programme institutions. Mr Oboro noted that holding monthly meetings for the Technical Working Groups was not achievable.
Among the recommendations that the meeting came up with was generating letters about AJP and distributing them to development partners, the Ministry of Gender to map interventions for juvenile and vulnerable justice, develop a unified comprehensive assessment framework for AJP management of service delivery, legal aid clinics and Justice Centres to align their interventions to the Programme. Technical Working Groups agreed to hold quarterly meetings, and to incorporate Justice Centers in the AJP.
The Chief Registrar, HW Sarah Langa Siu, Registrar High Court, HW Bareebe Rosemary, Registrar Planning, Research & Development HW Flavia Nabakooza, Registrar Judicial Training Institute, HW Kisakye Mary Kaitesi, Principal Economist Mr. Simon Opolot and Principal Policy Analyst are present at the meeting.
The meeting has drawn participation from the Tax Appeals Tribunal, Uganda Prisons Services, Uganda Police Force, Law Development Centre, and Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development as well as Secretariat members from the Judiciary Policy and Planning Unit.
Posted 29th, March 2023
