{"id":452,"date":"2020-02-21T19:57:27","date_gmt":"2020-02-21T17:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lac.org.na\/wordpress\/?page_id=452"},"modified":"2021-11-24T22:33:19","modified_gmt":"2021-11-24T20:33:19","slug":"maintenance","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lac.org.na\/index.php\/projects\/gender-research-advocacy-grap\/family-law\/maintenance\/","title":{"rendered":"Maintenance"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Law Reform<\/h2>\n

The Maintenance Act 9 of 2003<\/a>\u00a0was the culmination of some eight years of advocacy by GR&AP and other NGOs.<\/p>\n

Following an extensive two-year study, in 1995 GR&AP published a report entitled\u00a0Maintenance: A Study of the Operation of Namibia’s Maintenance Courts<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, including a proposal for a draft Maintenance Act.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0Maintenance Manual<\/em>\u00a0for magistrates and maintenance officers who administer maintenance cases was also published in 1995, as well as educational material on maintenance.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”869″ img_size=”large”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]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<\/strong> <\/a>on maintenance in 1997.<\/p>\n

During 1998-99, GR&AP embarked on a Child Maintenance Campaign<\/strong> with the goal of\u00a0 advocating for law reform, raising public awareness of the importance of financial and emotional support to children from both their parents, and improving service delivery to persons who approach the maintenance courts.\u00a0 Campaign activities included radio and television programmes, posters, performance groups, community meetings and workshops across Namibia as well as direct engagement with various service providers.<\/p>\n

One of the highlights of the campaign was the preparation of six short television spots aimed at fathers.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 \u00a0A video containing all six spots was distributed to NGOs and others for use in workshops.\u00a0 In October 1999, these television spots won a prestigious Gecko advertising award, surpassing 11 other entries.<\/p>\n

Lobbying activities continued after the official end of the campaign.\u00a0 The Maintenance Bill<\/strong> was introduced into Parliament in February 2002.\u00a0 GR&AP made written and oral submissions on the Bill to the Parliamentary Committee which studied it.\u00a0 When the Committee Report was tabled, GR&AP responded with written comments which were distributed to all Parliamentarians.\u00a0 The bill was passed in 2003, and finally came into force in November of that year.\u00a0 GR&AP advised the Ministry of Justice on regulations and forms to accompany the Act, with emphasis on making the forms and the procedures as accessible and user-friendly as possible.<\/p>\n

You can read short articles from our archives published during this period:<\/p>\n