The number of warrants of arrest issued for maintenance defaulters dropped from 61 499 in 2000 for all nine provinces in South Africa to 53 531 in 2001, according to figures released to Parliament by Justice Minister Penuell Maduna.
The minister was replying to New National Party member of Parliament Dirk Bakker on various maintenance issues.
“The department conducts an annual return from the lower and high courts each year. The return includes a wide range of information relating to both criminal and civil court work. Information for 2002 is not as yet available,” the minister explained.
However, he said there had been 330 350 court orders for maintenance issued in 2000 but this had dropped to 267 034 cases in 2001.
The largest number in 2000 was 89 653 in Gauteng but this dropped to 44 882 in 2001. In 2001 the province with the highest number of court orders was KwaZulu Natal, with 58 856 up from 37 163 the previous year.
The number in the Eastern Cape dropped from 61 354 to 54 788.
The minister noted that the number of warrants of arrest issued for maintenance defaulters was highest in the Eastern Cape in 2001 — 13 225 of the 53 531 in 2001. In the previous year Gauteng had issued the most, at 16 797 of the 61 499 issued countrywide. This dropped to just 5 263 in 2001.
No explanation was provided in the written reply for the drop in most provinces of both court orders and court warrants of arrest orders.
The minister also noted that a breakdown for women and men paying maintenance was not available. – I-Net Bridge