In a bid to tackle financial challenges faced by children and families amid the international 16 Days of Activism Campaign, the Mpumalanga National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) hosted its maintenance awareness webinar.
Live from the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court on December 6, the webinar featured speakers Adv Christa du Plessis and Adv Mokgadi Makata, who tackled various topics on maintenance for children and spouses, with the moderator of the session being Adv Thobeka Phungula.
Du Plessis, senior state advocate for sexual offences and community affairs in Mpumalanga, said maintenance is a contentious issue with a lot of emotions.
“It entails the duty to support by paying an amount of money to a person based on legal duty to support that person or their children. It includes provision of accommodation, education, food, clothing and medical care.”
Du Plessis said if there are children involved, the court always acts in their best interests, and both parents have the duty to support the children. “There are three requirements to paying maintenance – there must be a relationship between parties, which includes parents, adoptive parents, spouses, customary parents and marriages, grandparents, siblings and half-siblings; there must be a need to support and they must have the means to pay for maintenance.”
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She said maintenance does not cease when the child turns 18. However, each case is unique, and parents usually stop paying for maintenance when the child can earn their own living.
Makata, a senior state maintenance prosecutor in Mpumalanga, said if the person who pays maintenance can no longer afford the amount, they can apply for a variation order at the magistrate’s office where the maintenance order was made.
“There are remedies taken by the court in cases in which parties fail to pay for maintenance. If the maintenance was not received within 10 days of the initial date of payment, the complainant can approach the court with the essential documents, including an affidavit.
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“The court will either approach the employer of the person through an emolument attachment order, for which the employer will provide the salary advices of their employee to prove they have received their salary. Another remedy is the attachment of debt done with the person’s bank and a warrant against execution of property, where the court can sell assets of the person to cover the maintenance payments.”
Makata said prosecution is the last resort, and direct incarceration is not possible.
