The Department of Justice and constitutional development has partnered with the Social Justice Foundation to blacklist parents who default on child maintenance.
Justice minister Thembi Simelane signed a historic memorandum of understanding on Maintenance Online Listing of Defaulters (MOLD) with the Consumer Profile Bureau on Friday, 1 November.
WHY WOULD CHILD MAINTENANCE DEFAULTERS BE BLACKLISTED?
At least 70% of parents default on child maintenance in the first two years of court orders being granted.
The department said it will develop a system to facilitate forwarding the details of persons against whom child maintenance enforcement orders have been granted (maintenance defaulters) to a partner credit bureau, which will, in turn, make this information available to all other credit bureaus and credit providers.
This will, in turn, impact child maintenance defaulters’ ability to access credit and this move implements the provisions of the Maintenance Act, 1998 (Act No. 99 of 1998) (the Act) as amended.
Further, the department said both the civil and criminal provisions of the Act require the forwarding of personal details of maintenance defaulters who fail to pay child maintenance and have enforcement order judgements against them to the credit bureaus and credit providers.
“This Partnership will not only benefit the implementation of the Act but will later benefit the broader orders made within the family law environment.
“This Partnership is critical as it will create a system that will not only create a MOLD Register, but it will also streamline the process to ensure that critical information is in line with the provisions of the Act and the Children’s Act, 2005, as amended.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE JUDTICE DEPARTMENT’S DECISION TO BLACKLIST CHILD MAINTENANCE DEFAULTERS?
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