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Strong opinions have been expressed to Parliament about so-called discrimination against men in the Children’s Act. According to a report in The Citizen, from September, the Limpopo High Court will be the first to implement rule 41A Uniform Rules of Court to force mediation between parties. In July, Judge President of the Limpopo court, Ephraim Makgoba, called on legal practitioners to comply with Rule 41A when they issued proceedings as per the ruling last year.
A concerned father of a three-year-old and an activist in many non-profit organizations said he wished all provinces would follow suit. ‘Kudos to the Judge President. The people in Limpopo are lucky, I wish all the provinces would put it this way,’ the activist said. ‘It seeks to alleviate the burden on the courts so that cases may be settled between adults ahead of time,’ the activist said. He added that mediation was cheaper and easier when everyone was mature and reasonable throughout the process. He said the recommendations of the Commission of Gender Equality before Parliament were problematic because they discriminated against male parents. He said the logical outcome of divorce was that the child gets two homes. ‘One household is not more important than the other,’ the activist said.