–to bridge technological gap, improve human resources, address other critical needs

THE Judiciary of Guyana has launched an extensive seven-year strategic plan of action to foster enhancements of its services, especially in the areas of technological and human resource advancements.

Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Chief Justice Roxane George, on Tuesday, shared the same sentiments regarding the obstacles to development in key areas, noting that filling the existing gaps are critical.

They made those remarks at the opening of the Law Year 2024 and the launch of the Strategic Plan for the Judiciary.

The strategic plan is anticipated to serve as a master design and inform the Court’s broad work programme in the coming seven years, 2024-2031.

“The strategy is developed when Guyana as a country is experiencing a social and economic shift, due to the booming energy sector, a rapidly growing economy, new migrant populations, and several elements of growth due to the diversification of the economy,” the strategic plan outlined.

The plan spotlights the key areas of court services, where higher satisfaction will be better served, in the medium term, along the wider spectrum of the court’s services portfolio.

Notably, a six-pronged methodology was utilised in the design and development of the strategy.

These included: A desk review of key documents of the court, including annual reports, consultations with key judicial and non-judicial officers of the court, consultations with local regional judicial stakeholders including registrars, court clerks and police prosecutors, a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis based on the interviews and discussions with the key informants and stakeholders, and production of an inception report and summarising a situation analysis and establishing a needs analysis.

There is also an accountability dynamic forged into the plan, with the results-based management framework outlined for the goal, objectives and related actions and activities.

Moreover, a Strategic Planning Team from the Supreme Court will promote a participatory and inclusive methodology to attain inputs from key stakeholders and court users. It was said that the team will meet once per quarter to guide and monitor the execution of the plan.

“We have established action-planning, measurement of outcomes and a monitoring framework to measure and determine progress at the end of each year of the plan.

The results-based system that underlines the framework of the strategic plan enables accountability and transparency of the expected strategic actions and outcomes,” the plan read.

There were eight essential objectives highlighted along with a summary of the estimated expenditure.

The objectives are: Strengthening court leadership and administration; enhancing access to justice; enhancing workforce productivity and performance; enhancing court infrastructure; satisfying clients’ needs and improving customer experience; preserving public trust, confidence; improving work processes and technology, and optimising use of financial and material resources.