02 Jul 2019

Deputy directo r- Department of Community Development in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Ms Delic Sehunwe says well managed marriages are a form of good governance. 

Speaking on behalf of  Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Kgotla Autlwetse at the fourth edition of the EBAT relationship seminar series in Palapye recently, Ms Sehunwe said well managed marriages demonstrated accountability, responsibility and must be encouraged. 

She expressed a need to share experiences of good marriages and healthy families with others for inspiration and mentorship.

She said her ministry was committed to working with other ministries and departments as well as relevant partners to promote relating better with each other and strengthening families through functional marriages.

Ms Sehunwe said the fourth edition of EBAT relationship seminar brought hope and affirmation that Botswana was indeed on a transformational path, the one that President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi is leading and promoting.  

“The seminars have taken a cue from His Excellency’s inaugural speech when he took oath of the highest office,” she said.

She said since taking oath of the highest office on the land on April 1 2018, President Masisi put his family life on the platform and had even gone to the extent of encouraging members of his cabinet to marry and put value on their special relationships - being marriages. 

She said she trusted that the ongoing review of the Marriage Act would strengthen this assertion, perhaps by making it difficult for people to divorce.

Ms Sehunwe said relationship issues, as well as marriages and family life in general, were important to the society and they ought to be guided diligently by, among others, social workers, community developers, counsellors, pastors, elders, veteran couples, marriage officers, and consultants, who could all provide counsel, mentorship, therapy, confidence, and assurance that it is possible to live harmoniously and productively as married couples.

She said to have a private entity as EBAT Consultants, take such an agenda and run with it was commendable and the Maruapula family should be applauded as directors of EBAT for this noble initiative.

She said her ministry, being the people’s ministry, could not be left behind in this journey of building and restoring confidence in the institution of marriage. 

Ms Sehunwe said children ought to be raised within homes of married persons as this would give them good parenting that is essential to develop responsible citizenry.

She said government should strengthen the marriage institution straight from the legal requirements, saying there has to be pre-marital counselling before the solemnisation of weddings and all marriage officers must emphasise this aspect.

She said it should be incumbent upon government to ensure that marrying people were properly guided and given the necessary fundamentals and foundations for the marriage to become sustainable and indeed rewarding for them and to inspire many others that might want to consider it.

She said society should therefore reverse the negative social ills that had now become a common sight due to ailing relationships and failing marriages that at times result in domestic violence, abuse, death, suicide and other such ugly deeds and manifestations.

She implored the audience to undertake research on the issue of relationships and particularly on marriages, as this would inform government policy.

Ms Sehunwe said making people aware of the value of marriage, assisting them to appreciate and sustain marriages, helping fight the high divorce rate and providing pre-marital counselling sessions was a commendable effort.

She said EBAT Consultants needed to be commended for such an undertaking and lauded BIUST for hosting the seminar.

The theme for the day was: Pre-marital Counselling: A Pre-requisite for Strong and Sustainable Marriages. 

Deputy permanent secretary in the Office of the President, Mr Ernest Phiri said that pre-marital counselling needed adequate time, adding that in most cases, people went for pre-marital counselling closer to their wedding dates, which is a short time, when all eyes will be on the ceremony.

He said the question that remains is; do people really prepare for the marriage or the wedding? 

He said the couples who get married should know that marriage starts as soon as everyone leaves the wedding, adding that the people who attend the ceremony do not care about what happens after the wedding.

Mr Phiri said the rate at which people go their separate ways after marriage was shocking, revealing that in 2015, there were 329 divorce cases registered and in 2016 there were 375 while in 2017 there were 482. 

In 2018 there were 505 and 2019 there were 258 devorces thus far.  

He said the numbers seem to be going up and in some cases, couples were married for a short time. Ends