
Non-profit organisation, Sonke Gender Justice, says it is unfortunate that the courts will have to strong arm parents who refuse to pay child maintenance in order for them to do right by their child/children.
The organsation’s co-executive director, Bafana Khumalo, was reacting to the recently signed memorandum of understanding by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development with the Social Justice Foundation and Consumer Profile Bureau to blacklist parents who default on their child maintenance.
Around 70% of parents ordered to pay child maintenance are said to be defaulters.
The MOU will make it difficult for them to access credit as their details will be sent to the credit bureau to ensure credit providers are aware of them.
According to the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), over 60% of children in South Africa don’t live with their biological fathers, while at least 20% have contact with them twice a week.
In 2021, Stats SA revealed that the number of black children who stay with their biological fathers is the lowest at 31.7% when compared to coloured children at 51.3%, and white children at 80.2%.
While Khumalo acknowledges that some might leave their jobs, out of spite, to avoid taking responsibility, he doesn’t think that will be the case in this instance.
“The truth is being jobless is tough these days and to simply leave your job because you want to avoid taking responsibility for your child/children is not an option. Everyone who has a job currently knows that they have to keep that job as times are indeed tough. We would have hoped for a different circumstance of course where responsible parents take full responsibility for the upkeep of their children. But the truth is that many single parents who happen in the main to be women in our case face trauma when they need support for their children.”
He says while it’s important for fathers to actively take care of their children monetarily, some men need to understand that children need more than just that.
“We need to engage more with men in our society to take responsibility and do good by their children. Children need support not only in monetary terms but also emotionally.”
Human rights lawyer, Sheldon Magardie, has also weighed saying the amendments to the Maintenance Act will benefit children the most, as many children grow up in poverty, while the other parent continues to live their best life while evading accountability.
Magardie says this procedure will apply to individuals who have defaulted on their maintenance obligation, where a court has issued a warrant in terms of Section 26 of the Maintenance Act.
This improvement to the enforcement of Child Maintenance Orders has received mixed reactions on social media.