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Husband and wife, and in the case of children born out of wedlock, father and mother are responsible for the upbringing of their children. What this entails is that the two should fend for their children until they are adults. It is the responsibility of both parents to ensure that the children have the basics which include clothes, food and accommodation. Parents also have an obligation to send their children to school. The government after realising that some parents were deliberately not taking care of their children came up with legislation to compel them to fend for their children.

The courts are today overwhelmed by cases of maintenance as mostly women seek their assistance to compel men to take care of their children. Bulawayo Maintenance Court has since January this year recorded a 31 percent increase in cases brought before it compared to the same period last year. This could be a confirmation that an increasing number of women are now enlightened regarding the law which compels men to look after their children.

There are also isolated cases when irresponsible women have also been brought to court for failing to take care of their children. In a few cases, some women have taken their own sons to court to compel them to look after their children. The courts have not been found wanting when it comes to protecting the rights of children hence many of those brought to court have been ordered to pay for the upkeep of their children.

What is, however, disturbing is that some women are now abusing maintenance to punish their estranged lovers. These women are coming up with ridiculous claims. One woman claimed as much as $ 7,000 a month for the upkeep of just two children. It is such ridiculous figures which spoil the noble objective of the maintenance law.

We totally agree with Bulawayo magistrate Marilyn Mutshina that some amounts women are demanding are excessive. Mutshina said women should not use maintenance to punish their estranged lovers. Maintenance, as already stated, should be for the upkeep of the child so whatever amount is claimed for a child should be close to what each and every child of the one paying maintenance is spending a month.

It serves no purpose for one child to deny others the basics just because his or her mother has gone to court to claim maintenance. We want at this juncture to commend the good work being done by the courts to compel irresponsible parents to fend for their children but at the same time we want to urge the courts to continue guarding against abuse of maintenance by unscrupulous individuals.

The amounts claimed as maintenance cannot be divorced from the prevailing economic realities. It is a fact that the economy is underperforming and as such many families are forced to forgo some luxuries and those under maintenance are no exception. We want to once again call on the courts to reject ridiculous maintenance claims.