Forward -No More Theatre, Time for Action
Ladies and gentlemen, I was compelled to write this. On Tuesday morning, I presented to the Law Reform Commission, alongside officials from Justice, Social Development, and constitutional law bodies. It was deadening. These are functionaries bound to the whims of politicians of the day. The show goes on; the change does not. At this pace, we face another 20–30 years of drift.
I have spoken with many lawyers this week. The good ones are despondent. They entered to fix the system; the system fixed them. When they speak up, they are punished. Through government “process” and “consultation,” inaction becomes policy.
There is only one lever left: us. We, the people, parents, mothers and fathers, must force change. That means legal action against the state. Not niceties. Not waiting rooms. Action.
Fathers 4 Justice has made detailed submissions to the Department of Social Development. Six years of work have been shelved. Enough. The polite door-knocking phase is over. We MUST organise as one, litigate, and compel compliance with children’s rights.
1. The Unacceptable Cost of Systemic Failure
1.1 Introduction: The Continuation of Conflict
This serves as an urgent and comprehensive call to action directed at every mother and father within the Republic of South Africa. As previously documented, the current legal justice system, designed ostensibly to protect the rights of children following parental separation or divorce, instead functions as a mechanism of systemic annihilation against the family unit. The conflict is needlessly prolonged, the financial burdens are crippling, and the resulting instability continues to destroy the inherent right of the child to a balanced relationship with both biological parents.
1.2 Preclusion and Financial Ruin
The current status quo dictates that families can be trapped within the judicial system for periods spanning five, eight, ten, or even twenty years. This extensive duration, coupled with exorbitant legal fees, often escalating into the millions of Rands, effectively precludes the vast majority of South African parents from achieving equitable and timely resolution. The system is designed not for resolution, but for perpetuation, allowing legal professionals, advocates, psychologists, and social welfare workers to profit over the longest possible period, irrespective of the consequences for the child. This operational design is fundamentally flawed and must be unilaterally rejected by the citizenry.
2: Mandatory Prerequisites for Justice
For the conflict to cease, we must mandate and institute non-negotiable legal frameworks that eliminate the discretionary power currently enjoyed by system role-players. The following two prerequisites are essential to uphold the best interests of the child:
2.1 Mandated and Expedited Mediation
It is incumbent upon the Department of Justice to institute mandatory, automatic mediation as the primary default mechanism for all parental contact and care disputes. This mediation process must be statutorily required to be concluded within a strict ninety (90) day period from the filing date.
The current non-application of Sections 70 and 71 of the Children’s Act (No. 38 of 2005), which empower judges and magistrates to refer matters to mediation, is an deliberate institutional failing. Until mediation is an automatic, non-discretionary step with strict adherence to timeline compliance, the system will continue to churn families through costly litigation.
2.2 The De Facto Standard of 50/50 Contact and Care
Until such time as there is an automatic default presumption of 50/50 contact, care, guardianship, and maintenance from birth, parental conflict and litigation will persist.
We cannot be naive in the application of this principle. The de facto standard must be instituted via a clear, pragmatically structured escalation model, detailing measurable, defined contact from birth until the child reaches approximately four or five years of age, at which point the 50/50 shared residency model must be fully implemented. This structure must be robust enough that no lawyer, advocate, or judicial officer can interfere with or undermine it without a clear and provable justification of risk.
3: Accountability and the Sword of Damocles
The professional impunity of those who participate in this dysfunctional system must end.
3.1 The Elimination of Discretion
The current application of the law, where judges and magistrates possess excessive discretionary ability in matters of contact and care, is the source of chaos and inconsistency. Laws pertaining to the child’s right to both parents must be applied automatically, rigorously, and without subjective interpretation.
3.2 Strict Penalties for Non-Compliance
To ensure compliance with the child’s God-given right to a relationship with both parents, in the absence of provable violence, abuse, or neglect,a system of direct, immediate consequences must be implemented.
We propose a Three-Strike Rule for parents who engage in obstructionist behaviour, such as denying contact, failing to adhere to telephone arrangements, or neglecting maintenance duties. On the third instance of non-compliance, Section 35 of the Children’s Act, which allows for a one-year sentence for contempt, must be automatically and immediately imposed.
Furthermore, this punitive measure must be extended to all complicit system players, lawyers, advocates, psychologists, and social welfare workers who advise or engage in actions, such as the facilitation of false allegations, designed to alienate a parent. Should these professionals fail to act expeditiously and ethically to get the family out of the legal system within 90 days, they must face automatic legal, criminal and commercial consequences that include the suspension or revocation of their professional license.
4. Maintenance: Fairness, Speed, and Accountability
- Zero tolerance for wilful default.
Where it is demonstrably provable that a parent has the financial wherewithal to pay maintenance and is being obstructive, no indulgence should be granted. Immediate enforcement must follow. - Protection for the financially distressed.
We observe a pattern of the DoJ, public prosecutors, and some maintenance officers targeting parents in genuine financial distress. This is unlawful and counterproductive. Enforcement must distinguish wilful non-payment from inability to pay. - Full bilateral disclosure—always.
Magistrates and judges must compel comprehensive income and expenditure schedules from both parties, supported by bank statements, payslips, and affidavits, before making or enforcing any order. - 14-day fast-track relief.
Any parent demonstrating a material change in circumstances must receive a hearing and decision within 14 days, with the court empowered to:- Reduce the maintenance order; and/or
- Stay the order for 3, 6, or 12 months; and/or
- Discharge arrears or the order in whole or in part, where justified.
- Objective means test.
Apply a standardised uniform means-assessment (verified income, essential expenses, dependants, and debt obligations) to prevent arbitrary or punitive rulings. This must be a program that is uniformly available to the public, judicial officials and court officers. - Setting a percentage – a standard unit of test must be applied for the combined earnings of BOTH parents. i.e. 30% of the combined net income of both parents. Where the one parent is unemployed, then that parent must be assisted through a SASSA grant. The entire burden can not fall solely to one parent alone, unless they are in a finacial position to provide more.
- Sanctions for bad faith.
- For payers: penalties for concealment, asset-shifting, or wilful default.
- For recipients or officials: costs, orders and disciplinary referral for vexatious enforcement or harassment of indigent parents.
- Evidence-first procedure.
No committal, garnishee, or blacklist action should proceed without prior bilateral disclosure, verified calculations, and a written rationale by the officer or prosecutor. - Child-centric outcome.
Orders must ensure steady, realistic support tied to actual means, thereby protecting the child and keeping the paying parent economically viable.
Chapter 5: The National Imperative: A Unified Mandate
This crisis transcends all lines of division. It is irrelevant and immaterial what our cultural, racial, ethnic, political, or religious affiliations may be. Every South African family is subject to the DELIBERATE destructive inertia of a system designed to fail its primary duty: protecting the child.
The only beneficiaries of the current chaos are those professional players whose financial interests are served by the family’s prolonged distress. The only victims are our children.
It is the incumbent duty of every single parent in South Africa to set aside the internal conflict, stop throwing rotten eggs and stones at one another, and unite under a single, unwavering mandate.
The Mandate
We, the constituents of South Africa, must deliver a strict instruction to the relevant government departments, the Government and all political parties, specifically the Department of Social Development, the Department of Justice, and the Office of the Family Advocate, and to the legal and psychological professionals who serve them:
This systemic destruction of the South African family unit must end immediately.
The non-negotiable baseline is the child’s God-given right to daily physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual contact, care, guardianship, and maintenance with, by, and of both biological parents at all times, with the 50/50 split as the mandatory, de facto standard.
Until we, the parents, speak with one unified, authoritative voice, the game-playing continues, and our children will continue to pay the devastating price.
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Educate yourself – Manual For a detailed mediation and parenting plan, dos and don’ts and must-haves
Fathers 4 Justice South Africa has compiled a comprehensive and practical guide for use during mediation, specifically focused on developing a Parenting and Maintenance Plan. This booklet is the product of over 22 years of direct experience, offering clarity on what is required, what can reasonably be expected, and what must be included in any legally compliant and child-focused plan.
The booklet serves as a step-by-step guide on:
- The mediation process
- Key expectations during mediation
- Non-negotiable elements of a Parenting and Maintenance Plan following South African law
The cost of the booklet is R 590.
Banking Details:
- Bank: Capitec
- Account Type: Savings
- Account Number: 2116843673
- Reference: F4J [Your Full Name]
Please include proof of payment in your response to this email.
Send your proof of payment to info@f4j.co.za.
To obtain a copy, kindly email Fathers 4 Justice South Africa at info@f4j.co.za
Please include your full name, surname, and email address in the body of the email ALONG WITH AN ATTACHED COPY OF THE PAYMENT PROOF.
Kindly use the subject line: “Parenting Plan and Mediation Booklet”.
This resource is essential for any parent navigating the mediation process and wishing to protect their legal rights and responsibilities.
As a RESPONSIBLE Parent mediation is the mature adult thing to do!
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