Legal Assistance Centre-Namibia

MAINTENANCE
GENDER RESEARCH & ADVOCACY PROJECT

Following an extensive two-year study, in 1995 the GR&AP published a report entitled Maintenance: A Study of the Operation of Namibia's Maintenance Courts, including a proposal for a draft Maintenance Act. A Maintenance Manual for magistrates and maintenance officers who administer maintenance cases was also published in 1995, as well as educational material on maintenance.

During 1996, the Legal Assistance Centre met to discuss the recommendations with members of a subcommittee appointed by the Law Reform & Development Commission for this purpose. Following on the recommendations of this subcommittee, the Law Reform and Development Commission published a report on maintenance in 1997.

During 1998-99, GR&AP embarked on a Child Maintenance Campaign with several objectives:

The first goal was to speed up the passage of the new Maintenance Act. Campaign activities in this area included direct lobbying of key officials, circulation of a petition demanding speedy passage of the Act and provision of ongoing research and drafting assistance to the Ministry of Justice on specific issues.

The second goal was to raise public awareness of the importance of financial and emotional support from parents. Activities here included radio and tv programmes, posters, performance groups, community meetings and workshops across Namibia.

The third goal was to improve the service provided to persons who approach the maintenance courts. This objective was addressed by compiling illustrative case studies, meetings with maintenance officers , lobbying the Ministry of Justice to provide specialised training for maintenance officers and forwarding specific complaints to the chief of the Magistrates' Court for follow-up.

It appears that this campaign helped to keep the bill moving forward on the political agenda. There was an increase in the number of maintenance complaints being brought to some legal advice offices during the campaign period, increased discussion of the topic on call-in radio shows on the various language services and a positive response from community-based organisations who work with GR&AP.

One of the culminating activities of the campaign was the preparation of six 'commercial-length' television spots aimed at fathers. These 'shorts' were launched at the National Art Gallery in March 1999 and were well-received, stimulating lots of discussion and debate. NBC aired them frequently. A video containing all six spots was distributed to NGOs and others for use in workshops. In October 1999, these television spots won a prestigious Gecko advertising award, surpassing 11 other entries. (The award technically went to AfriNature, the media company which actually made the advertisements, but it provided good publicity for LAC and for the maintenance campaign.)

Lobbying activities continued after the official end of the campaign. The Maintenance Bill was introduced into Parliament in February 2002. GR&AP made written and oral submissions on the Bill to the Parliamentary Committee which studied it. When the Committee Report was tabled, GR&AP responded with written comments which were distributed to all Parliamentarians.

The bill was passed in 2003, and finally came into force in November of that year.

As in the case of the Combating of Domestic Violence Act, GR&AP advised the Ministry of Justice on regulations and forms to accompany the Act, once again with emphasis on making the forms and the procedures as accessible and user-friendly as possible.

The GR&AP has drafted educational material on the new law. It has published a Guide to the Maintenance Act. The GR&AP has also published a shorter Summary of the Maintenance Act of the maintenance system in simple language, which includes a step-by-step guide to seeking a maintenance order. The Summary also reproduces the key forms needed to apply for the maintenance order and explains how to complete them. Both these publications are available in English, and translations in Afrikaans, Khoekhoegowab, Otjiherero, Oshiwambo, and Rukwangali will be available soon.

In 2006, the GR&AP will collect information on the implementation of the Maintenance Act and make recommendations for improving its application.

SUMMARY OF THE MAINTENANCE ACT
The Maintenance Act contains a number of innovations which should help the maintenance system to run more smoothly. The basic principle of child maintenance has always been that both parents should contribute to the maintenance of their children in accordance with their means. This simple equation has never worked very well in Namibia - but the new law should help.

For one thing, the new law will make sure that all children are treated equally. It says that all children are entitled to a fair share of their parents' resources, regardless of their order of birth - and the same principles will apply to all children, regardless of whether they were born inside or outside of marriage and regardless of what customary law applies.

An innovation is that a share of pregnancy and birth-related expenses can now be included as part of a maintenance claim, meaning that mothers and fathers are expected to share responsibility for the child right from the very point of conception.

Another innovation is a provision which makes it possible for primary caretakers - persons other than parents who take primary responsibility for the daily care of a child to approach the maintenance court for help with getting payments from one or both parents directly.

The new law will operate more efficiently. Those 'deadbeat dads' who ignore the summons to come to court will find that maintenance orders can now be made in their absence.

The introduction of maintenance investigators will make it harder for people to hide themselves or their income. This should help stamp out abuse of the maintenance courts by dishonest parents on either side of the case.

Where someone does not have a cash income to use for maintenance, the new law allows for payment in kind - such as maintenance in the form of cattle. This should help to make the law workable for rural families as well as urban ones.

Another new provision will make it possible for maintenance payments to go directly into bank accounts instead of being collected in person at the court - a simple, practical improvement which will save parents time and money.

The new law also offers better enforcement mechanisms. Where a parent defaults on maintenance payments, it will be possible to utilize simple procedures to attach property or wages. Criminal charges will be used only as a last resort, meaning that the sentences for willful failure to pay maintenance are likely to become tougher.

And yet the law is even-handed. Maintenance recipients who abuse maintenance money by using for themselves instead of for the child can also now be punished.

The new law emphasizes maintenance as a mechanism for the needs of the children, instead of a power struggle between mother and father. It should be a step forward in putting children first.

IMPLEMENTATION OF MAINTENANCE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAWS
In 2007, GR&AP attended the NANGOF Gender Sector meeting on 30 March, where several NGOs reported that their members are experiencing practical problems in trying to utilise the Maintenance Act 2003 and the Combating of Domestic Violence Act 2003.

GR&AP urged NGOs to collect information on these problems on a simple form which GR&AP agreed to design to ensure that all relevant information is recorded. The purpose is to facilitate follow-up action that will improve accountability on the part of government. The form was circulated to all NANGOF members, but this approach has proved unsuccessful as members of the other NGOs have not returned any completed forms to GR&AP for assistance with follow-up. Alternative information-collection mechanisms will be discussed with NANGOF in 2008.