CAPE TOWN - Single mothers say they have been “stripped of their dignity” and expressed their frustration, as they anxiously await their child maintenance payouts, following a ransomware attack on the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD).
The backlog for the September payout occurred following dysfunctionality on the MojaPay system, due to the system hack, but beneficiaries were promised, in a statement by the DoJ&CD, that payments were made on the September 15 and monies were to reflect days after.
However, beneficiary Rosalynne Petersen, from Rocklands in Mitchells Plain, said she has been stripped of her dignity, as she has had to borrow money from people, just to see her two children and herself through the month.
After visiting the Mitchells Plain Court to enquire about the monies yet to be received, Petersen said she was met with empty promises.
“I have gone to the Mitchells Plain Court, on September 28, to find out what is happening with the payment. I was told by the court manager that they are busy with a plan of action and my money would be in my account by Friday, October 1 but, to date, nothing has been paid.
“I don’t even want to go out in public because you have your dignity and your pride, and when you budget around that money, it becomes financially stressful when that money isn’t there as it should be,” she said.
Petersen, who is unemployed, said the situation has become frustrating – as making enquiries also costs money, which she cannot afford.
“I can’t go to the court everyday. It’s a far distance to walk because I don’t have transport money, and making the calls are expensive. The other day, I had to borrow R10 for airtime to make an inquiry, but the calls to the call centre are so expensive, the airtime ran out before I was put through to the right department. That R10 is money I could use to buy a loaf of bread,” she said.
A single mother of three, from Westridge, in Mitchells Plain, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she has, for the first time, had to approach a money lender to provide for her children.
“The crèches run a business and they need their money. The situation is very frustrating and when you inquire about it at the court, they deal with you in such a manner that makes you feel like you don’t matter,” she said.
The mother, who went to court to enquire about the payments, said they received no answers on Thursday
“It is embarrassing, as a single mother, to stand and beg for money that was court-ordered. This situation has made me drown in more debt. We haven’t got any answers and now I have a money lender breathing down my neck to settle debts that I, yet again, can’t say when it will be paid,” she said.
Enquiries to the department were not unanswered by the time of publication.
In a statement last month, the DoJ&CD said: “To date, great progress had been made to contain the spread, while restoring critical services to the public. While the department is not yet in a position to determine the exact date when all systems will be restored, it is encouraged the progress made by the IT experts thus far.”
Cape Times