Beneficiaries frustrated as maintenance garnishee orders go unpaid

Due to ongoing IT issues at the department of justice, maintenance garnishee orders have again gone unpaid.

Beneficiaries who have not been paid shared their frustration with TimesLIVE.

Sinoxolo Mwalata, 30, a student at a college in Gqeberha, said she was living in debt as she had not received her maintenance.

She said the maintenance from her father usually reflects in her account between the 20th and 23rd of each month but she was still waiting for the money from October.

She said calls to the maintenance court had gone unanswered. When she went to court in Gqeberha, they referred her to Willowvale maintenance court where she initially reported her maintenance case.

“It has affected me so badly because I must go to school, and I don’t have the money for transport. I have to borrow money to go to school and buy my necessities. The landline is ringing nonstop, and no-one is answering,” she said.

She added she had experienced a similar problem with the justice department about two years ago but fortunately she was at home when it happened.   

“At the time, they told me that I should submit my bank statement and my ID copy and I received the money after two days.”

She said it a return trip to the Willowvale court in KuGatyana would cost her about R1,000 and she was writing exams.

The department announced on Friday that payment services at all magistrates' courts in the country would be temporarily suspended from 1pm due to the system being upgraded. It said the services would resume on Monday.

A beneficiary, who wanted to be known only as Jennifer, said she has not received her child maintenance. The woman from Kanana, North West, said the money was supposed to have been deposited in her account on October 26.

“My money usually comes in on the 26th of every month. When it didn't come through, I went to the court and they told me the payroll hadn't been released and they referred me to the municipality. When I got there, they told me the payroll was released on October 24,” she said.

The frustrated mother said she had to borrow money for all the travelling she had to do to enquire about the delay in the payment of the money, but these trips had proved futile. She said she experienced the same problem in June and July.

“But when I went to court (Orkney) the money was paid to me in cash, so I was thinking it would be the same thing now. My child's food is finished and I don't know what I will do, I was also hoping to pay for the lay-by for the Christmas clothes,” she said.

Earlier this year, there were reports of a security breach after the department temporarily suspended its electronic payment system for third-party funds — including that for child maintenance.

However, in response, the department denied it had suffered a cyberattack and said it was detection of suspected fraudulent activities within the system by Mojapay System managers.

TimesLIVE