Churches asked to encourage members to register marriages

Tema, Jan. 18, GNA - Churches who do not have could not register marriages have been urged to educate their members to do so at the District Assemblies after presenting certificates obtained from the Church. Marriages contracted by the church without registration by the district assemblies or other authorised bodies do not have legal backing.

Mr Joseph Torso, a Marriage Counsellor at the Tema Municipal Assembly, said these in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Saturday. He noted that some couples were ignorant of the marriage law and did not take adequate measures to legalise their marriages thereby creating problems during divorce.

Mr Torso advised aspiring couples to seek counselling from qualified married counsellors before entering into marital relations to ensure that their marriages were secured. He said the Marriage Registration Department in Tema registered about 2,407 marriages in the municipality last year. Mr Torso added that out of the number, 1,956 were contracted under the Marriage Ordinance while 451 couples married customarily as against 1,804 registered marriages in 2002 with 1,554 under the Ordinance and 250 customarily contracted. He said there was an increase in marriage registration last year because Department educated couples on the need to legalise their marriages.

Mr Torso added that the rise was also due to organised mass weddings by churches to cut down cost as well request for marriage certificates as condition for issuing visa for people travelling abroad. He, however, expressed regret that most marriages were dissolved at the court because of the lack of understanding between married couples and advised churches to counsel prospective couples for at least six months.