Tepa (Ash), Sept 17, GNA- Child and spouse maintenance cases are on the increase in the Ahafo-Ano North District of Ashanti, Mr Anthony Aduku-Aidoo, the District Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), has said.

He said about 53 percent of cases that were reported to the Commission in the district were related to the maintenance of children of broken marriages.

Speaking at an open forum, organised by CHRAJ as part of activities marking the 10th anniversary of the Commission at Tepa on Monday, Mr Aduku-Aidoo attributed the many broken marriages in the area to too many non-formalised marriages.

He appealed to women who wish to go into marriage to ensure that they are properly married so that if there should be any divorce, the children can be properly catered for.

Mr Aduku-Aidoo said there has been few reported cases of public officers abusing the rights of fellow citizens and attributed this to the fact that reporting the misconduct of public officers has not caught on in the district.

He said the Commission is one of the most important institutions to enhance democracy and appealed to the district assembly and the public to support it by providing it with suitable accommodation and other logistics to enhance its work.

Participants at the forum suggested that CHRAJ, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and others must be empowered to prosecute corrupt public officials instead of referring the cases to the Attorney General's Department for advice.