Parliament, Cape Town -MPs have rejected a clause in a new proposed law which would have seen maintenance defaulters blacklisted, Parliament’s portfolio committee on justice and correctional services said on Thursday.
MPs on the committee want several clauses in the Maintenance Amendment Bill redrafted, including one that allows defaulters to be blacklisted with the country’s credit bureax.
“Defaulters will have to pay a lawyer to have their names removed from the blacklisting. This money could have been used to pay maintenance,” Committee chairman Mathole Motshekga said.
“A different effective mechanism should be found to sanction defaulters.”
MPs were in favour of claimants applying for garnishee orders at courts.
The committee was also opposed to a clause in the Bill which would see applicants for maintenance pay cellular service providers to track defaulters
“If this clause was kept in its current form, it would prevent many poor people, especially women, from accessing maintenance,” said Motshekga.
“The Committee agreed that the clause should be changed to read that the State must bear the cost should an applicant not be able to afford the payment charged by service providers.”
African News Agency