No hotel, guest house or garden facility has been registered to celebrate marriages in the Volta Region capital of Ho, according to the Marriage Registry at the Ho Municipal Assembly.
Consequently, all marriages celebrated at those premises are illegal and “void ab initio”.
In recent times, hotels and gardens in Ho and other parts of the Region, have become preferred premises for the celebration of marriages, with some, going beyond 1600 hours in the afternoon, contrary to the Marriage Act.
Officer-in-charge of the Marriage Registry at the Ho Municipal Assembly, Ms. Ida Foli, has told the GNA that only churches are certified to host marriage ceremonies.
Nana Ama Akyiaa Prempeh, a Chief State Attorney at the Registrar General’s Department (RGD), at a sensitisation workshop on the Department’s online portal, described the situation as worrying and advised would-be couples to ensure that their marriages were officiated by licensed priests at the registered venues.
She said those done at unregistered venues could not be validated, unless the couples started the process afresh.
Nana Prempeh said hotels and gardens could host marriage ceremonies if registered to do so by the Assemblies, on behalf of the Registrar General.
She said the launch of the Department’s online portal was to address those challenges and improve service delivery to the citizenry.
Nana Prempeh said apart from marriage registry, all six business categories-sole proprietorship, subsidiary business names, companies limited by shares, companies limited by guarantee and external companies could be registered online.
She said customers could also conduct searches, book appointments for the administration of estates and file amendments and other documents online in the comfort of their homes online.
Nana Prempeh said the Department was also opening up regional offices for the issuance of special licenses and the easy registration of trademarks and textile designs.
Mrs. Doris Ameyaw, the Head of Information Technology, RGD, described the e-portal as user-friendly and urged customers to use it to reduce the cost of travelling to the offices of the Department.
Source: GNA
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Is this the most important thing. In Europe and USA, the examples of democracy, couples are married even in their homes in the presence of few friends who serve as witnesses. All they do is invite the pastor or officiating official to their home, sign the necessary papers and BINGO!! And so what is this man saying. The Law? Please things have changed. THE LAW WAS MADE FOR MAN, NOT MAN FOR THE LAW.
What is being stated is that the hotels in Ho haven't taken the trouble to register their premises for such events. Courts are registered, most (not all) chapels are registered. All that the proprietors have to do is to do the right thing. Apart from this you need a registered (gazetteer) marriage officer to make it legal.
DOES THIS LAW AFFECT TRADITIONAL MARRIAGES CONDUCTED IN PRIVATE HOMES? WHY ARE WE RESTRICTING OURSELVES TO ONLY CERTAIN PLACES FOR SUCH AN IMPORTANT CEREMONY IN THE LIFE OF INDIVIDUALS? WHY IS THE GOVERNMENT KILLING THE HOTEL/MOTEL BUSINESSES IN HO? WHAT SECURITY RISK IS AT STAKE FOR SUCH AN IRRESPONSIBLE CONCERNS BEING RAISED? I GUESS THE ONLY RESTRICTION SHOULD BE THAT THE MARRIAGE HAS TO BE OFFICIATED BY AN AUTHORIZED PERSON. SOMEBODY SHOULD OPEN UP HIS THINKING AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES IN THE APPROPRIATE WAY POSSIBLE. THIS IS A RESTRICTION ON FREE SPEECH
What about courts?
The importance of the church. I wonder how many people are only co-inhabiting, in the name of marriage. Certificates without any legal authority. God be with us all.