Dear Christine,
The public system in this country just baffles me, but I must admit that penning this letter serves as a form of relief for me. Yet I am hoping it will still effect some type of change.
I have a judicial matter pending – maintenance to be specific.
First of all, I was appalled when I went to the clerk to check on maintenance for my child that I was told they could not find the relevant card. On checking quite a few times after that occasion, it was deduced that the card was misplaced.
Christine, words cannot express what I felt at that moment. The father of my child was in court since 2002. Since that time he has only once given money to the court.
Since the card cannot be found, there is no record of him owning anything. I obviously had to reapply for maintenance and it seemed that all those years of unpaid maintenance would go down the drain.
When I reapplied, we were given a date for the hearing. Since attending court on the first occasion, the matter of maintenance has not been addressed because of the absence of a magistrate. This matter has since been adjourned twice for the same reason. The next date is now next year. This further frustrates me!
Just imagine, I have to ask my employer for the day to attend court, since that’s how long it usually takes. It makes no sense giving my employer a time frame since this judicial system is unpredictable. I therefore have to forfeit the day’s pay. This money I am losing could go towards supporting my child.
Christine, as a single mother who feels as if she has to beg the father of her child to support the child, this is very depressing. It gets even more depressing when it seems as if my only recourse is a dead end.
– Fed Up
Dear Fed Up,
I’d be fed up too! There was a period when letters were reaching my desk on a regular basis concerning child maintenance and the ill-treatment many mothers suffer to get the necessary support for their children.
It seems like only lip service is being paid as far as getting to the bottom of various issues are concerned.
There is no consolation I can offer you other than to hope the relevant authorities would look into the whole issue of child maintenance and recognize in that process that the children are the ones who suffer most.
They are the ones who will be the leaders of tomorrow and the system owes it to them to see that they are treated fairly and justly.
I hope at the end of your period of waiting, your child will be justly “rewarded”.
– CHRISTINE