Peace officers in the country will now be placed on the payroll.
The implementation of this task has already begun as part of Justice Minister, Bryan Kramer’s plan to sort out outstanding allowances for Village Court Official which include magistrates and peace officer.
Kramer realized the need for improvement in the Village Court systems within the Judiciary when he took office as Minister for Justice and has since met with the Village Courts and Land Mediation Secretariat and the Department of Personnel Management to ensure the official are paid their dues.
Village Court was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1973 and over the years has evolved from a mostly traditional based system of solving disputes to a contemporary justice system.
Since 2013, Village Courts officials have been receiving monthly allowances facilitated by the Department of Justice and Attorney General in partnership with the DPM and the Department of Finance.
Despite this, not all officials are being paid because of financial shortfalls.
Minister Kramer said, the Village Court is the most accessed justice service mechanism available, and its officials operate in rural and remote areas to uphold the rule of law, therefore they must be paid.
“We’re working to get the peace officers on payroll, and will do the same for magistrates and other officials like clerks. The two main tasks are to get them on the payroll and find the money to pay them,” said Kramer.
He added that the Ministry of Justice has been working with the Village Courts and Land Mediation Secretariat and DPM to ensure names of officials in all provinces are submitted to be put on payroll.
