By STEVEN ZANDE
ATTORNEY General (AG) Likando Kalaluka is concerned that from 1998 to date Zambia has trained only 209 drafts persons, stating that this number is inadequate to meet the legal and interpretation needs of the country.
Mr Kalaluka said legal expertise that specialised in legislative interpretation was crucial to addressing Government’s needs and those of players like businesses, professionals, trade associations and individual clients.
The AG urged the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education (ZIALE) to put in place measures that will help increase the number of legislative drafting graduates that were being churned out of the institution.
“We all at some point need the expertise of draft legislators. But the numbers we have produced fall far short of our national and regional requirements for legislative drafters,” said.
He said this in Lusaka yesterday in a speech read by immediate past Clerk of the National Assembly Doris Mwiinga at the postgraduate diploma in legislative drafting course graduation ceremony..
Fifteen students graduated, of which four were male while 11 were female.
Mr Kalaluka said ZIALE should ensure it sustained it’s mandate of providing a steady supply of qualified legislative drafters to meet the country’s needs.
He directed ZIALE to work out strategies of raising the profile of the drafts programme of the institution with a view to attract more national and international students.
“It is therefore incumbent upon the director and her team to bring innovations that will develop the programme further and make it marketable internationally,” Mr Kalaluka said.
He urged the graduates to use their skills and knowledge to serve the country.
ZIALE director Ann Malata-Ononuju said the institute placed a premium on developing quality legal minds and ZIALE would continue to work to ensure adequate legal expert production that addressed needs of the country.
2017 intake’s best student Nkusukwila Nachalwe in a vote of thanks hailed her fellow students for having overcome immense challenges like sleepless nights, stating their perseverance to succeed in the course was a mark of commitment to excellence.
