Al-Jama-ah wants the state to give mothers attending child maintenance cases travel allowances.
The party will propose an amendment Bill to the Maintenance Act in parliament next week. Should the Bill be passed, women attending child maintenance cases will receive travel allowances, the same as defendants in such cases.
In the Bill, proposed by party leader Ganief Hendricks, he added two amendments to the Act, which include that parties should be able to opt for external mediation or arbitration and an interim stipend of R1,090 while a magistrate deliberates on each case.
The stipend would be paid by the state pending the outcome and investigation of cases, a move that was welcomed by child maintenance activist Natasja Stroebel, from Child Maintenance 101.
Hendricks said his office had been inundated with complaints from women who, in some cases, had been waiting for years for outcomes. "In December last year, Al-Jama-ah had a webinar where we invited people to present papers on amending the Maintenance Act.
"My office received a lot of complaints by people waiting years for determination at maintenance courts.
"The people who participated represented hundreds of women, and this was also across racial groups. We felt the best way was not to engage the department of justice because of delays in matters being taken up and instead, applied to speaker on private member’s bill," he said.
Hendricks said in terms of legislation, only defendants get assistance with traveling and accommodation.
"[Most] of these women are indigent and don't have money. We've also proposed that a month after a case has been registered, the child must receive an interim payment of R1,090. We felt it’s a good figure to use because it does go up every year. A woman can ask for interim relief until the magistrate makes a determination on how much the man must pay per child," he said.
Stroebel said the law had been discriminating against women by not giving them allowances.
"A father would be summoned to come to court and a mother would have to take a day off and not be compensated for the day.
"The law basically discriminated against women. There’s obviously a huge benefit to it. That’s the effect it has because it was really groundbreaking.
"The challenge is that the maintenance officer doesn’t do a proper financial investigation and no interim order is put in place – and a man can delay the proceedings with the help of the maintenance officer. Cases can be delayed by anything from nine months to 18 months.
"If maintenance officers are effectively doing what they're empowered to do, then everything will be done quicker, because the interim order would be paid by the court," she said.
Stroebel described the proposed amendments as a huge step forward, one that needed to be done.
The merits of the amendment will be debated on December 22 in the National Assembly but before that, the item will go to the justice portfolio committee.
"This means parliamentary officials will do a report to the portfolio committee, and then it will go for public participation in the nine provinces. When all those comments come back, parliament will draft a report to the portfolio committee, then go to National Assembly for voting," Hendricks said.
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