22 Jul 2021

Minister of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs, Ms Annah Mokgethi has emphasised the need to educate Batswana on property regime.

Responding to legislators’ debates on the proposed amendment of the Married Person Property Act, Ms Mokgethi said it was evident that some couples had not been adequately educated on their rights to choose  which property regime to marry under.

Such lack of information on property regime, she said,  resulted in some couples assuming that they were married in community of property while it was on the contrary.

As a result, she said the ministry would spearhead public education regarding property regimes with a view to enlighten the public on both the advantages and disadvantages of marrying in community of property.

On the other hand, she said the ministry was granted authority to review and amend the Act in an effort to provide for a 24-month moratorium for registration of instruments that were not registered on time hence rendered invalid.

 That, she said was meant to give couples time to submit their property regime forms.

 “It  was  through the  Attorney  General Chamber’s  advice that the proposed  amendments needed  to be expanded  to cover all married  couples, including  those couples  who were never  issued  with property  regime  instruments,” she said.

She added that the proposed amendments to provide for the 24-month moratorium, would also grant reissuance of property regime forms to couples who had previously lost such instruments based on the affidavit.

Also, she indicated that the Bill aimed to allow for rectification of errors in the instrument by the Deeds Registrar in terms of the Deeds Registry Act, instead of the monotonous way of applying through the High Court.

Thus, she highlighted the need to amend the Act in order to further regulate marriages contracted under customary law and religious rights, which the current law did not exclusively provide for.

“The ministry therefore intends to repeal the Marriage Act and re-enact it to provide for all the short comings,” she added.

Minister Mokgethi further highlighted the need for consultation regarding polygamous marriages and cultural matrimonial property regimes. ENDS