Ho Municipal Assembly records no divorce in 2018

The Ho Municipal Assembly (HMA) did not record any divorce case for the year 2018, Mrs Beatrice Boateng, Officer at the Marriage Desk told the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday.

She said in 2017, the Assembly recorded just one case and said the situation could be that people were enjoying their marriages ‘due to various reasons’.

The Officer said the situation could also be because most customary marriages were not registered at the Assembly, hence could be annulled secretly.

Mrs Boateng said most women only found out their marriages of many years were not registered when the marriage came under ‘threat’ with little or no opportunity for amends.

She said some couples were deterred from seeking divorce because of the relatively high administrative cost involved in the processes.

Mrs. Boateng explained that a good number of people only enquired about the processes, but never came back after they were told to pay GH¢2,000 for divorce.

She said the Assembly registered 32 customary marriages in 2018 as against 48 marriages in 2017 and advised couples especially women to ensure that their marriages, especially customary ones were registered with the local Assemblies.

Mrs. Boateng said though customary marriage allowed for men to be polygamous, when the marriage was duly registered, it protected the parties during divorce.

At the Ho Magistrate Court, a total of 129 marriages were registered under ordinance while 25 marriages were annulled in 2018.

Source: GNA