The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Maintenance Online Listing of Defaulters Project has been welcomed as a move to close the gap between maintenance courts, service providers and the credit industry.

Through the project, the Justice and Constitutional Development department will develop a system to facilitate the forwarding of the details of persons against whom child maintenance enforcement orders have been granted (maintenance defaulters) to a partner Credit Bureau who will in turn make this information available to all other credit bureaus and credit providers.

The Department, the Social Justice Foundation and the Consumer Profile Bureau have come together to drive the initiative forward.

Minister Thembi Simelane said they were “coming” for defaulters of maintenance court orders.

“There is no doubt that the failure to pay maintenance has a negative impact on the best interests of our children and it also undermines the child’s right to be maintained.

“The Constitution protects and provides in section 28(2)... that ‘a child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child.’

“Section 15(3)(a) of the Maintenance Act creates an obligation on both parents to support their children proportionately in accordance with their financial means.

“However many parents still fail to support their children and this failure negatively impacts on the children’s rights to maintenance, which includes the provision of food, accommodation, education, health and clothes,” Simelane said.

She said defaulting on maintenance was a criminal offence, and parents were entitled to lay a criminal charge.

“Although this step will likely result in a person’s arrest, it will not necessarily result in receiving payment. Judging by the long queues at the maintenance service centres, it is crystal clear that the enforcement of maintenance payments is a highly problematic area. Often, people liable to pay maintenance either refuse or simply neglect to fulfil their obligation.”

Social Justice Foundation's Anneke Greyvenstein said the purpose of the project was to close the gap between maintenance courts, service providers and the credit industry.

“By building this bridge we are reshaping how families interact with the legal system, making it accessible and fair.”

Lawyer Melusi Xulu from Donda Attorneys, added: “(This) basically means if you need to get credit, it will be difficult because the record will show that you are defaulting on a court order.

It’s adding punishment for the parents who are not paying. The reason this is being done... is because there are many court orders not being respected. You find that the parents are not paying, so the State wants to put an end to that,” said Xulu.

Single mother of two, Rosalynne Petersen said the solution was practical and would have far reaching effects for defaulters.

“It is a good thing, not just for myself but for the many others fighting for claims for maintenance.

“Women are struggling out there. Either the courts are not playing their part in terms of doing investigations or enforcing court orders. This would give (people) a wake-up call. Once you start with credit records, it’s a different thing.

“Being a single parent today is no joke, the cost of living has skyrocketed. What men are paying in a lot of cases is ridiculous.

“You cannot raise a child on R500 to R1000 a month, where’s the food, school fees? Children must be housed; who must provide? It’s a parental duty,” she said.

Cape Times