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MAINTENANCE MONEY DELAY IRKS KAVANGO MOTHERS 

By: Annakleta Haikera 

The child maintenance court based in Rundu has been accused of delaying the payment of maintenance money to beneficiaries by several women due to poor service delivery and lack of communication.

Mothers who spoke to The Villager say that they are not happy because it has affected their children’s well-being and school attendance. 

Some accuse maintenance court officials of being rude and unprofessional, with one even stating, “What will you do with a 400?” when a mother enquired about the money due to her child from the father.

According to several beneficiaries, the automated system of the child maintenance department introduced in 2019 contributes to the delays.

“I am the mother of one beneficiary who receives only a N$300.00 per month, but I can go three to four months without receiving my child’s payment. Our minors are suffering due to this delay. I am not the only mother complaining, but we are many,” Martha Kangumbe told The Villager.

She said that some mothers go for a year without any payments being processed by the line ministry, despite the money being deducted from the fathers’ accounts via stop order.

“I am more frustrated with the new system and the administration regarding how they are disrespectful and ignoring us. They sometimes tell me that I talk too much and the money I receive for my child is too little for me to bother them.”

Kangumbe further said that the maintenance money is the only way she can feed and take care of her child. With it, she pays for her son’s school development fund and buys him food and clothes.

“I work as a security guard, and I also go for 2 to 3 months without my payment and then think about how I survive with my child. It’s crucial.”

“The office where most payments are made does not consider us as humans. Whenever we come and confirm why we are not receiving our money on time, we will be told that the office is busy.”

Another mother speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “The fathers will call you and tell you the payment had been completed, but when you go to the office with the proof of payment, you will be told the payment is still in progress, you should wait for two or three days.”

She said that sometimes, she has to pay N$40 taxi fee to get to Rundu from her house to inquire if the funds have arrived, just to be told that the funds have not yet reached her account. This means she would have used N$80 to go and come back for nothing.

“I am not a resident in Rundu, and I always travel 100 km to come to town to return to my village with nothing is very painful, especially when you promise a child that you are going to buy them something and return with empty hands. We are forced to borrow or loan money through this delay, and in the end, when you get the money, you pay it off as debt.”

She also said when she and other mothers go to the office to ask them why the money is delayed for three months; they are told it’s due to COVID-19.

“We are suffering. We are suffering. Up to now, we don’t have anything to eat. This is January. January is bad news for everyone.”

Some mothers who didn’t receive payments since last November said they went to their children’s schools to negotiate to buy stationery in February.

John Ndara, a father to one of the beneficiaries, was very disappointed in how the Rundu magistrate’s court handled the payment. “We get to be deducted the minute the money enters our bank, and the deductions are done on time, but to hear that our children only receive the money after 3 to 4 months. It is upsetting and dissatisfactory to us.

Executive director of the office of the Judiciary, Bernhardt Kukuri said that he was aware of delays in payments at the maintenance courts in parts of the country, particularly in the two Kavango regions and Katima Mulilo being the most challenging.

“We will follow up with the office to see if they have been paying the maintenance. I can assure you that maintenance payments have been a problem at some stations across the country.”

He said that the process is usually slowed down by manual verification at the offices and has thus encouraged beneficiaries to receive their money via EFT. This, however, has brought its challenges as very few people prefer it due to high services fees, which lowers the amount the mother can withdraw.

“Going through EFTs is creating another story because when the money eventually hits your account if you had a N$250, you might be left with a N$200. Some citizens want their actual amount, so either they bank it up over time or come to get it cash, via the counter as there are no deductions.”

Quizzed on whether he was aware that some employees at the Rundu offices were accused of harassing mothers, Kukuri said, “We encourage the citizens if they encounter such behaviour, take a photo [of the person] and send it to us. We don’t condone such behaviour. It’s against our ethos and customer service charters. We’ll take appropriate action on those staff members who do such behaviour.”

Julia Heita

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