NCWD handled 125 cases last year

Sekondi (Western Region), 22 Jan. '99 - The Western regional office of the National Council on Women and Development (NCWD) handled 125 arbitration cases on child maintenance, divorce, compensation after divorce and inheritance in 1998, Miss Ekua Ansah- Eshon, regional coordinator of the council told newsmen Sekondi today. She said 45 of the cases were on child maintenance, representing 36 per cent of the total, eight cases of compensation after divorce, one on divorce, five on inheritance, and 66 miscellaneous cases. Miss Ansah- Eshon said the cases were dealt with by a panel comprising representatives of NCWD, Ghana National Commission on children(GNCC), National Youth Council and the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE). She expressed concern about the high incidence of child maintenance cases in the region brought about, in many instances, by divorce. Miss Ansah-Eshon proposed a review of the procedure for customary marriage to make it well known to spouses and the public to prevent the break down of marriages. She said the traditional marriage system fosters communication between families of the spouses but there is lack of communication when spouses choose their own partners which makes it difficult for families to sit down and sort out disagreements resulting in break down of marriages.