Statistics available at the Registrar's Department of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) indicates that marriages registered under customary law decreased in the last four years. However, there has been a sharp increase in the rate at which customary marriages are dissolved. In 2003, the number of marriages registered was 2,669; 2,669 in 2004; 2,199 in 2005; 1,719 in 2006 and 1,484 in 2007. The reason for the decline, according to the Registrar, Mr Emmanuel Tetteh, was the lack of education. "Some people are not aware that customary marriages could be registered while others are of the view that when the two families involved are aware of the marriage, it is enough," he said. He said people living in and around James Town and Chorkor were not interested in registering their marriages. He said he personally did not like dissolving marriages, but cited the inability of couples to have children during marriages as one of the reason they used to justify the dissolution of their marriages. He said most couples had forgotten that children were gifts from God. He said some couples were also not mature enough to understand what marriage entailed and that eventually led to the dissolution of marriages. The registrar also mentioned interference of in-laws in marriages as a contributory factor to the breakdown of marriages, and advised parents of prospective couples to discuss the pros and cons of marriage with their wards. Mr Tetteh said marriage was a matter of endurance and having faith in each other. According to him, occasionally couples dissolved their marriages but later reunited, adding that “it is normaly seen among the elderly in society”. He said persons above 18 years could register their marriages but those below that age needed the consent of their parents before marriages could be registered. To him, people preferred to register their marriages under the customary law because it was less expensive and not cumbersome. Source: Daily Graphic