The Attorney General, William Byaruhanga, has appealed to Parliament to prioritize recruitment of staff at the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, arguing that low staffing is to blame for the accumulation of court awards against government.
Byaruhanga told the House Committee on Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs that the Ministry is only 60 percent staffed, leading to
cases where state attorneys miss court or have to constantly ask for
adjournments.
“This eventually leads to a judge ruling against government
in cases where government has been sued,” Byaruhanga said while presenting the
Budget Framework Paper for the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs
before the committee on 16 January 2020.
“Unlike other ministries, low staffing has a direct bearing
on the state funds. Outstanding court awards now stands at shs545bn,” he said.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Marksons Jacob Oboth,
expressed willingness of the committee to support the Ministry to address the
funding gap in recruitment of more staff.
“The Attorney General should bring us the budget required to
recruit more staff so that we can use it justify your request,” he said.
Hon. Edward Makmott Otto (Ind., Agago County) said that staff
recruitment should be a priority for the Ministry of Justice, saying that
under-staffing and inadequate salary for existing staff has for long affected
the performance of the ministry.
“When I look at Agago Grade One Magistrate’s Court, it is
serving all the neighboring districts and yet the Magistrate is paid peanuts.
This is the issue we have to look at and help the Ministry to negotiate [with
the Ministry of Finance],” Makmot said.
Hon. Robinah Rwakoojo Gureme (NRM, Gomba West) warned that if
low staffing and under payment of the staff is not addressed, the Attorney
General’s Chambers will end up serving as a training ground for lawyers.
“It is very unfair and yet the Attorney General’s chambers
has the best lawyers but they do not last for long because they are under paid
and over worked,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General also highlighted the pending
compensation for war claimants in the Northern, Eastern and West Nile Regions
as a recurrent challenge which has affected the performance of the ministry.
He said that the Ministry requires Shs10billion to carry out
the verification exercise before the compensation is rolled out.
Byaruhanga however advised government to source for
compensation funds from development partners, saying that the budget required
is huge.
