The Midlands State University (MSU) yesterday officially launched a diploma in paralegal studies, the first of its kind in the country in a bid to contribute towards an effective justice delivery system.
By Stephen Chadenga
Officiating at the launch in Gweru yesterday, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said it was his ministry’s hope that the studies would produce graduates that can enhance justice delivery to marginalised communities.
“It is our hope the programme will produce a cadre that will augment access to justice for marginalised groups,” he said.
“Access to justice or legal services is one of the most critical issues affecting legal system. Many users of the justice system are either unable to afford a lawyer or unable to find a lawyer, who practices in some remote locations of our country.”
MSU partnered Transparency, Responsiveness, Accountability and Citizen Engagement through donors from the Department for International Development in the United Kingdom, Irish Aid and the Netherlands for financial support. MSU dean of law, Gift Manyatera said their first enrolment of 28 students was in June 2017, with a second expected in August.
