United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

The government has been implementing the reforms in the Judiciary as part of the wider public sector reforms. However, due to limited financial resources, implementation of the reforms has been adversely affected especially in rural districts like Namwala and Itezhi Tezhi. Namwala and Itezhi Tezhi are rural districts whose inhabitants, the Ila people, are predominantly traditional cattle farmers. The two districts experience a high rate of stock theft and for over six months each year (from December to May), the plains in the two districts are flooded; and with no public transport linking the two districts, this poses great challenges in the delivery of justice. The Namwala and Itezhi Tezhi Subordinate Local Court fall under the Judiciary and is mandated to adjudicate and provide an efficient and effective administration of justice for the benefit of the society in the two districts. There is one Magistrate catering for the two districts comprising of 7 Local Courts (Traditional Courts in Chiefdoms) in Itezhi Tezhi, and 5 Local Courts and one Subordinate Court in Namwala. There is only one Remand Prison in Namwala with a capacity of 65, to cater for the two districts.

The districts had no Sitting Magistrate from 2001 to 2006, resulting in a backlog of 400 pending cases. The lack of a Resident Magistrate in Namwala and Itezhi Itezhi and the lack of adequate court infrastructure especially in Itezhi Tezhi impacted negatively on the timely delivery of justice. The increasing number of pending cases was adversely affecting the farming community and productivity in the two districts as suspects were detained for a long time in Police custody court and exhibits such as ploughs, cattle, ox-drawn chains, money and other farming implements were held for a long time by the State. The backlog of pending cases also affected the quick disposal of new cases. The annual flooding from December to May also adversely affected sittings. Lawlessness increased in the district due to an ineffective legal system. Both the farmers and the suspects were adversely affected by the system.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
The key benefits resulting from the initiative was the improvement in the access to justice through the attachment of a sitting Magistrate to the two districts and the implementation of a mobile court system which lead to quick disposal of cases. Capacity was built in the Subordinate Court through the purchase of requisite resources i.e. a motor vehicle, motorized boat, bicycles, court benches, computers and stationary to facilitate efficient and effective operations through improved work processes. The mobile court calendar was prepared and implemented where the sitting Magistrate conducts scheduled sittings including scene visits and inspects Local Court case records in both districts. With the motorized boat, sittings are conducted throughout the year even during the flooding seasons resulting in an increase in the number of sittings from one sitting per quarter to 60 sittings per quarter. Pending cases both civil and criminal have been reduced from 400 at the start of the initiative in June 2007 to 82 by December 2008. The number of new cases disposed of has increased from an average of 40 cases per year as opposed to 300 cases per year after the intervention. With all the requisites in place, processing of new cases has improved with a reduction of case disposal time from 60 days to an average of 10 days. The quick disposal of cases has resulted in the reduction of mental and emotional torture of suspects awaiting trial and quick disposal of exhibits. There is an increase in community alertness and cooperation, a reduction in crime rate and confidence has been built in the judicial system. Agriculture production has improved as there is increased food security and increase in livestock production.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
The solution was proposed by the sitting Magistrate who submitted an application to the Public Service Management Project (PSM), Management Development Division, Cabinet Office. The PSM provided technical guidance in the finalization of the project document upon which the application was submitted to the Service Delivery Improvement Fund Evaluation Panel for assessment and the Public Service Reform Programe Steering Committee headed by the Secretary to the Cabinet for approval for funding. The key stakeholders are Judiciary - for counterpart support for operating costs, Zambia Police (Namwala and Itezhi-tezhi) -for effecting arrests, custody and prosecution of suspects and storage of exhibits before tendering in court , Zambia Wildlife Authority - for arrests and prosecutions and storage of exhibits before tendering in court and the Traditional Leaders, cattle farmers and the community - active participation in the initiative by reporting offences to the law enforcement agencies.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The main objective of the project is to improve accessibility to the delivery of justice in Namwala and Itezhi-Tezhi for quick disposal of cases. The outputs of the project were reduction in number of pending cases from 400 to 200 by December 2008; increase in the number of mobile court sessions held at each local court in a month, quarter and a year; increase in the number of cases disposed of in a month, quarter and year; and reduction of case disposal time from 60 days to 10 days. The objectives and outputs were established by the implementing institution in conjunction with the PSM secretariat. The strategies used to implement the initiative were to mobilize resources through development of work plan and budget to facilitate implementation of the project activities, conducting a situation analysis by reviewing the work processes to increase efficiency in the management of the workload, developing a strategy to implement revised work processes, re-orienting staff in revised work processes, mobilizing and sensitizing key stakeholders to buy into the project and remove negative perceptions and attitude on reporting of offences committed in the community, preparing a mobile court calendar to facilitating the conduct of structured mobile court sessions and increase quick disposal of cases and increase access to justice, adjudicate cases, preparing monthly, quarterly and annual reports on pending cases and new cases disposed of.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The key development and implementation steps were the finalization of the work plan and budget; verification visit to the project site; signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of Zambia and Judiciary as the implementing institution; formation of the Project Implementation Committee; induction/orientation for implementing institutions; training in basic project management; conducting a baseline study, preparing a procurement plan; procuring project requisites; mobilization and sensitization of the community and key stakeholders; review of work processes; orientation of staff on revised work processes; training of staff in computers and information technology; conduct mobile court sessions; preparing monthly returns and monthly, quarterly and annual progress reports; preparing IEC materials such as brochures, banners and presentations for practitioners forum; and participation in PSM review workshops.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
The main obstacles encountered were negative attitudes by some stakeholders to cooperate with the court such as communities lack of cooperation with investigation officers to identify culprits and witnesses, limited capacity on the part of the Police to bring witnesses to court, and traditional leaders started settling capital offences at village level. Some of the strategies to overcome the challenges included on going sensitization of key stakeholders on their various roles and the benefits from the project in the livelihoods of the community. Logistical support such as vehicle, motor bikes and computers have been provided to the Police to facilitate efficient operations and speed up the process of bringing cases and witnesses to court during stipulated time.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
The resources used for the initiative included human, financial and material resources. The human resources were staff from the implementing institution which is Namwala and Itezhi Tezhi Surbodinate Court who worked in conjunction with a technical team from PSM secretariat to develop the initiative from inception up to the point it was approved and implementation commenced. A work plan and budget of K440, 000,000.00 was prepared, finalized and approved to support project implementation. The funding was sourced from the Service Delivery Improvement Fund (SDIF) that has been established as part of the Public Service Management Project (PSM) under Management Development Division, Cabinet Office. The PSM is being funded through a basket funding arrangement by the Swedish Development Agency (SIDA), the Department for International Development (DFID) and the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank. The initiative is an eighteen month programme from June 2007 to December 2009.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The initiative is sustainable because the project falls within the mandate of the Judiciary. The implementing institution receives funding on a monthly basis for the running of the mobile system and meets all the operational costs including salaries for staff. After project funding ceases from SDIF, all the activities will be mainstreamed, planned for and budgeted for in the Judiciary annual budget. To ensure regular funding, an annual mobile court calendar and budget, monthly returns and requests for funding timely. A scheduled service plan for all equipment will ensure prolonged usage of the equipment and maintain efficiency in operations of the court. The initiative can be replicated to other remote districts which have similar geographical features to improve access to justice. This can be done by mainstreaming the project activities into the daily operations of the district courts and supported by Judiciary. Continuous sensitization of the community to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies and the court officials on serving of writs and execution.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
The impact of the initiative is the reduction of pending cases from 400 cases in 2000 to 82 in 2008; increase of mobile court sessions held from 50 in 2005, 120 in 2006 to 240 in 2008; increase in the number of cases disposed of from 40 in 2005, 100 in 2006 to 300 in 2008; and reduction in the time taken to dispose of new cases from 60 days before the initiative to 10 days. Reduction in crime rate, increased farming activities and increased livestock production. The design of the mobile court system where the sitting Magistrate conducts sitting in Itezhi Tezhi district which does not have court structure has increased access to justice. The procurement of all requisite such as vehicles and motorized boat made it possible for the implementing institution to conduct scheduled sittings. The cooperation of key stakeholders including the Police and community has improved working relationships and commitment. Adequate funding facilitated the implementation of all project activities timely. Trained staff and revised work processes have motivated staff and improved performance at both individual and institutional levels. The lessons learned is streamlined processes which have improved the operations of the institution and increased access to justice by farmers, community and suspects. Through collective responsibility and team work, goals can be achieved and through continuous communication and participation of all stakeholders community response to the investigation agents is quick.


Institution Name:		Judiciary (Namwala Subordinate Court)
Institution Type:		Government Agency
Contact Person:		Mubita Munalula
Title:		Magistrate
Telephone/ Fax:		260 979 893 671
Institution's / Project's Website:		260 021 3 260 071
E-mail:		winnie.luhana@cabinet.gov.zm
Address:		Namwala Subordinate Court
Postal Code:		P.O. Box 81
City:		Namwala
State/Province:		Southern Province
Country:		Zambia

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information