Government has been urged to criminalise child negligence cases in order to curb the scourge.
The Centre for Disability, Development, Research, Law and Policy (CDDRLP) said government needs to review the Penal Code Act 87 to ensure that child negligence cases are punishable by law.
SADC Disability Policy Analyst Charles Mwape disclosed in a press statement issued to ZANIS in Lusaka today that child negligence should be made a criminal cases for the sake of the many Zambian children who have been neglected and rejected by irresponsible parents.
He said the increased cases of men refusing to take responsibility for children they have fathered needs urgent and drastic measures by government to address the scourge.
Mr Mwape called for reviewing of the penal code and other pieces of legislation to ensure that children’s rights are secured, protected and guaranteed.
He suggested that government should consider punishing offenders by sentencing them to 18 years in prison or enforcing a compulsory child maintenance order.
Mr Mwape said reviewing the law is the only remedy to instil a sense of responsibility in Zambian men that are in the habit of fathering without giving them due care and support.
Maintenance charges should be stiff and recovered through payroll for those who default. But this as we know it will affect a lot of politicians so it wouldn’t be easy to criminalise……
Very few people of means neglect their children. What causes child neglect is Father’s lack of resources which is also caused by Government’s neglect of its citizens! So Gvt at the end of the day are to blame for child neglect.
Really? Then how do these same fathers manage to find money for beer drinking and yet have nothing to feed, clothe, or send their children to school?
Better is to own up and take responsibility for your own life (like a man if you are?) than to look to government to solve your problems.
Provide the DNA machine in all hospitals in Zambia.