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Thursday, February 17, 2005 - Web posted at 7:49:37 GMT Minister 'stuns, surprises' NA with Children Bill objections LINDSAY DENTLINGERTHE Minister of Women Affairs and Child Welfare, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, pulled a surprise move in the National Assembly yesterday, rejecting virtually all changes proposed by the public to the Children Status Bill. |
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Many of the recommendations based on nationwide grassroots consultations and contained in a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social and Community Development were originally contained in the draft bill compiled by a task force appointed by the Minister and presented to Cabinet. However, the document that appeared before the National Assembly a year ago differed drastically from the original on key issues such as custody and guardianship. The bill seeks to give children born outside of marriage equal rights to those born within wedlock. Civil society lobbying and heated debate on custody issues and children born as a result of rape, led to the report being referred to a parliamentary committee to solicit and gauge public opinion. Speaking after the committee's chairperson Elia Kaiyamo presented the report to the House, the Minister asked to respond to the proposals. She did not provide reasons for many of the rejections, purely saying the proposals could not be accepted. The Minister maintained that she was under the impression that the committee had "misinterpreted" the bill in many instances and that their recommendations followed from this misunderstanding. The report had recommended that an unmarried mother should have sole custody of a child, unless the court decided otherwise, to avoid a tug-of-war between the parents. Nandi-Ndaitwah said it was preferable that parents shared custody once the child reached the age of seven. But in public debate the point was raised that this might not be in the best interest of the child, as the other parent may not have formed any relationship with the child during the first seven years. Parents, it has been argued, might want custody purely to avoid paying maintenance. Nandi-Ndaitwah said she also found unacceptable a proposal that another person other than a parent of a child, be considered as a guardian in instances where the parents are not suitable caregivers. She said this would be tantamount to giving children to "foreigners or strangers". Nandi-Ndaitwah similarly also rejected a proposal that in the event of the death of one parent, another person with the best interests of the child at heart, other than the surviving parent, be considered for guardianship. Speaker Mosé Tjitendero said yesterday that he was "stunned and surprised" by the Minister's remarks, because they negated the work of the committee. He said the report could not be a counterpoint between the Minister and the committee, and referred the report back to the committee so that the Minister's viewpoint could be incorporated in the document. The Legal Assistance Centre, which made submissions to the committee based on consultations with nearly 20 women and children's rights organisations, said yesterday that it was stunned by the Minister's stance. Dianne Hubbard of the LAC's Gender Advocacy project said she was "mystified" by the Minister's stance and called for more explanation of the objections. Kaiyamo said the committee would meet today to discuss how to incorporate and consider the Minister's remarks. With the contrast between the positions so stark, Kaiyamo said it might be left up to parliament to decide whose proposal to recommend. "We were just reporting what we found on the ground and that is what is important for us," he said. |
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