Malanje - Two hundred new magistrates will be trained in the near future by the National Institute of Judicial Studies (INEJ), with a view to addressing the shortage of staff at the Attorney General's Office (PGR) and meeting the demand countrywide.
The information was provided today by the public prosecutor, Neto Joaquim Neto, on the sidelines of a visit to the Damba Penitentiary, in the municipality of Mucari.
Neto Joaquim Neto, who also is coordinator of the North Judiciary Region, which includes the provinces of Malanje, Uige, Zaire and Cuanza Norte, said that the technicians would take up their duties after completing the theoretical training of magistrates, given the urgent need to expand the services of the Public Prosecutors Office and streamline procedural processing in the 18 provinces.
He highlighted that the number of public prosecution magistrates across the country is still far below expectations, recalling that Malanje has only 20 prosecutors distributed in five of the 14 municipalities in the province, namely Malanje, Calandula, Cacuso, Cangandala and Mucari.
Due to the limitation of magistrates, the prosecutor placed in the municipality of Mucari is forced to attend four more locations, namely Quela, Luquembo, Cambundi-catembo and Quirima.
Alongside the need to increase the number of prosecutors, Neto Joaquim Neto highlighted the need to improve their working conditions, taking into account that many still work in provisional facilities.
Therefore, arrangements are underway with the Provincial Government of Malanje in order to build facilities within the scope of the Integrated Plan for Intervention in Municipalities (PIIM).
Meanwhile, during the visit of the prosecutor, the criminal population of the establishment appealed for the intervention of the Attorney General Office to resolve the 24 cases of excess pre-trial detention in the preparatory instruction phase and the 13 of expired sentences.
The Damba penitentiary currently has 872 inmates, 242 of whom are detained and 630 are convicted, from the provinces of Malanje, Luanda, Bié, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Huambo, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Moxico and Uíge.
The coordinator of the Northern Judicial Region has been working since Monday in Malanje province, where he assesses the level of functioning of the Attorney General Office and the bodies involved in the administration of justice. ACC/PBC/DOJ/JMC
