Should deadbeat dads be listed with CRB? : The Standard

YES Listing deadbeat fathers with Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) until they pay child support will be the most effective way to compel them to support their children. The current Children’s Act has some loopholes that men have taken advantage of and failed to cater for their children. Amendments to the Act, as proposed by Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata, which suggest that apart from listing them with CRB, deadbeat fathers also be barred from leaving the country and denied business licences, could not have come at a better time. The number of single mothers in Kenya is swelling. Majority of single parents do not do well economically. Their children are thus susceptible to vices such as prostitution and drug abuse because of poverty. If randy men know they will be listed on CRB, they will be more responsible on learning they have put their partners in the family way. In all religions, men are supposed to be the providers for their families. If it is established, through DNA, that indeed a man fathered a child, then such a person should be made responsible. A father should take financial obligations of their children and ensure their welfare is well catered for, regardless of whether the man stays or is married to the child's mother. My prayer is that the Senate quickly passes the Bill into law. Children are innocent creatures and they should not suffer unnecessarily because of carelessness of the people who sired them.

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Ms Priscillar Mungah is a Coast based gender activist and a past Kilifi Women Rep aspirant. NO I do not support men who sow wild oats and take off for the woods. However, I feel that the proposal by Senator Kang’ata is a little too harsh. We have an existing legislation that protects children. Relevant agencies just need to enforce the laws without fear or favour. If the Kang’ata Bill is passed, many men will su er and their lives will be damaged irreparably. We have decent women out there, but we also have a class of women who cherish frustrating the men in their lives. I am afraid such ladies will have no qualms getting pregnant, knowing that the person responsible will have no choice but to take care of them because of the legal repercussions. And truth be told, there is nothing as hard as being in a loveless relationship with someone. As a country, we are going through tough economic times. Many young people are unemployed and they struggle each day to make ends meet. Imagine how hard it will be for a struggling young man to be put on CRB or denied a business licence for making a woman pregnant. It will be akin to killing the dreams of many young people and most of them may resort to crimes to make ends meet. Such young people, at the end of the day, may actually not find money to pay for child support, which really beats logic of introducing the amendments in the first place. Mr Okeng’o Nyambane is the President of Gusii Young Leaders Association.

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Deadbeat dadsCRBMurang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata