By FREDRICK JEJERI
A TOTAL of 348 village court magistrates and peace officers from Morobe province will benefit from the government’s Alesco payroll system.
This was revealed by Morobe Provincial Liaison Officer for village court and land mediation services, Ringwaku Sedrick.
He stated that 174 village court magistrates and 174 peace officers will be added to the payroll system this year to receive their monthly allowances.
This decision was made by the village court and land mediation secretariat under the Department of Justice and Attorney General.
Respective district administrations are urged to work with Local Level Government (LLG) managers to update the magistrates and peace officers’ name lists before the 30th of this month.
These hard-working officials have been working tirelessly over the years to ensure peace and good order is maintained in village level, without any recognition or reward for their efforts.
Finally, the officials will be recognized, thanks to the village courts and land mediation secretariat.
However, the village courts and land mediation system in the area greatly lack support to maintain its operations.
The system needs updated training, refresher courses, uniforms, books, and sufficient funding allocations on an annual basis.
Additionally, the area lacks village court buildings.
Mr. Sedrick said that district Members of Parliament have not prioritized these services over the years.
He said despite the system playing a vital role in maintaining peace and good order in village levels, it continues to face annual challenges.
Ringwaku stated that most of the village courts and mediation cases have been conducted under trees and church buildings due to the lack of proper buildings.
He urged respective district MPs to consider allocating funding portions to fund their village courts and land mediation services.
“This will ensure officials can attend update trainings and refresher courses and have proper buildings and uniforms to run village court services in their respective areas.”
