GEORGE NEWS - The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has introduced a new law cracking down on child maintenance defaulters, effective from 5 January.
Key sections of the Child Maintenance Amendment Act of 2015 have been updated in an effort to bring maintenance dodgers to book to help ensure that women and children are provided for by those who have an obligation to help maintain them.
"I am elated by the new law," a local single mother who wants to remain anonymous, told the George Herald.
"In 2017 I only received two payments of R1 500 each from my child's father. I have to provide for everything, pay all our bills, medical aid and school fees, and it's not as if he doesn't have money."
In a press release issued on 4 January, the department's spokesperson, Advocate Mthunzi Mhaga, set out these new laws:
- Parents who default will have their personal information submitted to credit bureaus;
- Defaulters will face being blacklisted;
- Courts can order network service providers to share contact details in order to trace defaulters;
- Maintenance beneficiaries may now lodge applications in areas where they work, not only where they live;
- Courts can place an interim order while waiting for the final outcome;
- Cost orders can be granted even if defaulters are absent from court proceedings;
- Courts can impose three years' imprisonment without option of a fine for continued defaulters.
"This will prevent defaulters from continuing to receive credit while they owe maintenance," said Mhaga.
If a parent responsible for maintenance cannot be traced, the court may issue an order to an electronic communication service provider to provide the court with their contact information.
"This order may only be granted if the court is satisfied that all reasonable efforts to locate the defaulter in question have failed," he said.
The cost implications to retrieve information from service providers will be covered by the State if it is found that the complainant cannot afford it.
The court may also order the defaulter to refund the State for all costs incurred if the State pays for the provision of the information.
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