Founding member and Secretary-General of the Pan African Bar Association advocate Dali Mpofu says the government and the private sector must do more to empower young black advocates.
Mpofu was speaking at a gala dinner in Sandton on Saturday night to mark the five year anniversary of the association.
Chief Justice Mandisa Maya and Minister of Justice Thembi Simelane were amongst the dignitaries at the event.
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Ms Thembi Simelane will be a keynote speaker tonight at the gala dinner.#PABASAturns5 pic.twitter.com/ofINx7iPMl
— Pan African Bar Association of South Africa (@panafricanbar) November 2, 2024
Mpofu explained the origins of the association.
“Reluctantly, we have had to break away from the established structures that have been there for about a hundred years and so on, because we felt that fighting to be included and wanting to be included is one thing, but we felt why not just form our own body. It was risky when it started, but now we are happy to announced that the numbers are high. We almost have 300 advocates at the moment. It has been phenomenal growth, but the government and the private sector must now come to the party to empower the advocates particularly the junior and the young advocates,” he said.