LSF donates computers to regional paralegal officers in the country

THE Legal Service Facility (LSF) has donated a total of 160 laptop computers to regional paralegal officers in a move that aims to facilitate their communication activities to their clients in the country. The computers which are worth over Tshs. 150 were donated last week in Dar es Salaam at a colourful ceremony which was graced by the Denmark Ambassador accredited in the country Einar Jensen as a guest of homour. Also in attendance were various paralegal officers representing 26 regions in the country, and legal officers from the Ministry of Justice and constitutional affairs. LSF’s Chief Executive Officer Kees Groenendijk said during the handing over ceremony that, his organization has donated such tools in order to help the officers communicate with easy and facilitate their daily legal activities to the needy people in the country. He further noted that, the paralegal officers do experiences lots of challenges while executing their duties in local communities for lack of sophisticated use of Information and communication tools such as these, hence they get some difficulties to reduce the problem. “The computers would help the officers to communicate with the local people as well as preserve their documentations for their work which they does of providing legal aid to the people especially the marginalized groups in their communities”, he said. However, he further underscored in an exclusive interview, the importance of the computers that would provide effective communication linking them and the general public through links of communication channels such as emails, instagram and face book. In addition to that, Groenendijk noted that, the facility would also help them share legal experiences with their clients in some parts which are remotely located in the country. “Our aim is to give the capacity building and further to mobilize local resources and create a a firm national base in order to grow and become sustainable”, he said adding that in Tanzania the paralegal officers work in great difficulty as the country is so vast an aspect that the access of legal aid is very little and so we need organization” he affirmed. He exclusively noted that, “what his organization is trying to do in order to bring closer to the people at least about one paralegal officer to represent one ward in the country”, he said and added that his organization is targeting to reach that goal in order to have all people access the services with easy. Speaking in an exclusive interview, earlier the Danish Ambassador Einar Jensen noted that his country has signed a long term agreement whereby it would disburse $ 11 million in starting from 2016 ending 2021 to specifically help to facilitate legal services in the country. He noted that this is a history of the past 15 years as his government through his Embassy office has been supporting the number of paralegal officers in the country in two different phases.  However, h has underscored the importance of paralegal services noting that it should mainly focus the women and children who constitute greater number of the most marginalized groups in the country. On her part, the Director of the Morogoro Paralegal Centre Ms. Flora Masoi has thanked the donor funding organizations especially the Republic of Darmark and DFID for this help which she noted has helped them facilitate smoothly the activities lies ahead of them. She also thanked the National Assembly which recently passed a bill that recognised the activities done by the paralegal officers in the country. In the just passed bill, the paralegal officers would not work at liberty to help community especially the marginalized group solve their various social problems besetting them at a community level. Among the most vulnerable activities being undertaken by the paralegal officers includes processing divorce cases, civil cases, land crisis  and many others which are impediment to be solved by the marginalized groups in the community, said a University don Dr. Benson Bana who is also a Board member of LSF. He also extended his appreciation for the government of Denmark to have extended fund for facilitating the work of the activities taken by paralegal in the country