Mother despondant because of struggle with child’s allowance
The mother of an ailing child from Kimberley sounds despondent when talking about her struggle the past two months after the local magistrate’s court allegedly neglected to pay over her monthly allowance.
Juanita van Heerden says she is dependent on a monthly allowance from the father of her child.
“The money should have been paid over (by the court) to my account on April 24,” she says. “When this did not happen, I phoned the court. The only explanation given was that the computers were down and that they could therefore not assist me.”
Van Heerden says she tried umpteen times, and eventually decided to confront the magistrate’s office.
“At first, I was told the computers were down. When I explained to a woman that my child was sick, she referred me to somebody else. I went to speak with this person, who gave me a form to fill out, assuring me that that would solve the problem.
“However, when I took the form to the woman, she again told me that the system was down and that it did not show that such deposit.”
Van Heerden insists she has proof of payment on her cell phone; she is convinced that she should have received the money a long time ago. She says the father even gave the magistrate’s court a banking statement, proving that he did pay over the money – and yet, she still has not been paid.
Magle Malelo, office manager at the cash pay-out point at the magistrate’s court, says it is not only Kimberley’s system that is down. She says she is confronted on a daily basis by people with the same problem, and adds that they try their best to handle the situation.
