JSC boss warns ‘playful' officials

CHIEF Justice Luke Malaba has warned members of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) against doing their own errands during working hours. CJ Malaba said this while addressing a JSC leadership convention held in Victoria Falls at the weekend, where he said only focused leadership would combat corruption.

"As the Chief Justice (CJ), I will not accept a member of the JSC who comes to work, but instead of doing work, he or she is on a frolic of his or her own," he said.

"It is bad enough for an ordinary member of staff to be on a frolic of his or her own, but it is worse when it is coming from part of my leadership. What is it that we call ‘frolic of your own'? Instead of serving clients at the front office, you are busy playing with your phones or misusing organisational facilities to do your own personal things.

"If you are such a person then you don't know why you are here, we don't need you in the organisation. I'm making a clarion call to you today that when you are at work, you must do the right thing."

CJ Malaba said JSC members should perform their duties and functions as expected of them.

"You are performing those functions because you are an officer of the JSC. You have a collective responsibility together with others to support the courts so that they are efficient and effective," he said.

CJ Malaba said the most important and fundamental quality required of a leader in a public institution such as the JSC was that he or she should be focused.

"This requires full and undisturbed concentration on their work.

"A focused leader is not selfish or self-centred; a focused leader, who is leading an organisation like the JSC, should place the interests of the organisation ahead of his personal interests. "It is through focused leadership that you are able to fight and defeat corruption, inefficiency, laziness and lack of co-operation."

He said the JSC should administer justice efficiently, and ensure legal disputes are resolved fairly.