By: Natasha Archary
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development have announced that there will be delays in child maintenance payments.
This follows a ransomware attack on the department’s IT system last week which makes accessing payment portals such as MojaPay inaccessible.
The department assures recipients that IT experts from the department were working closely with state agencies to investigate and resolve the issue.
However, the department cannot indicate how long payments will be delayed. The breach in their system security affects all electronic services.
Spokesperson Steve Mahlangu said, “As a result, all electronic services provided by the department are affected, including issuing of letters of authority, bail services, email and the departmental website.”
While the department cannot give an exact date for when the system for child maintenance payments will be back online, it stressed that all monies will be kept secure for payment to the rightful beneficiaries once the system is in order.
Mahlangu added that the current IT system problems will not affect payment by employers who deduct maintenance from the payer’s salary.
“These monthly child maintenance deductions will go ahead as scheduled. IT experts from the department, industry partners and selected organs of State are working together to urgently restore the systems affected by the ransomware attack, including MojaPay. The MojaPay system will be given the utmost priority to ensure that any inconvenience to maintenance beneficiaries is minimised.”
