By Ntombi Mhlongo
The promulgation of the first-ever Legal Aid legislation in the Kingdom of Eswatini has been benchmarked with that of neighbouring South Africa.
Already, a delegation commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs has visited the Legal Aid South Africa Unit to take part in a benchmarking exercise on the Legal Aid Bill of Eswatini.
Benchmarking is regarded as one of the most efficient tools democratic legislatures and organisations adopt with a specific focus on identifying, analysing and adopting best practices and implementing the best results to improve performance and operations.
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Members of the ministry’s portfolio committees from both houses of the Eswatini Parliament have since tabled a report detailing how the benchmarking exercise went. A conclusion contained in the report is that the benchmarking visit provided an avenue of lessons and consolidation of best practices within the two countries.
“Most of what is expected now is to set the pace for the implementation of these practices and the relevant legislation and policies within the country,” reads part of the report.
The report also states that the benchmarking delegation made various observations, including that a nationwide stakeholder consultation and or sensitization tour would have to be undertaken on the Bill to brief the public and unpack it.
“It became evident that the promulgation of the Legal Aid Bill is long overdue as it comes with a lot of benefits to the poor and disenfranchised in society and to the nation as a whole in terms of equal access to justice and legal representation,” it was highlighted in the report.
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Meanwhile, it was recently announced that the Kingdom of Eswatini has already begun the process of setting up a Legal Aid Office in the country. Legal Aid is a government initiative under the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, which seeks to help people with low or no income (indigent) to receive legal education, advice and representation.
Once the office is up and running, eligible people would include those who have little or no money left after paying for necessities like food and housing. A person will automatically qualify for legal aid if he or she falls under the following groups: children juveniles; elderly; persons with disability; survivors of gender-based violence (GBV); internally displaced persons, stateless persons, asylum seekers and refugees whose vulnerability resulted in their inability to generate income.
The Legal Aid Office is being established in line with priority 5 of the country’s 2019-2023 Action Plan Road map, which mandates the ministry to ensure legal assistance for the indigent as part of its goal to ensure equal access to justice for every citizen in the country.
