Drivers facing lengthy waits for cards will soon see relief as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) moves to decentralise its printing setup. Under new plans, regional hubs nationwide will issue cards on site, ending dependence on a single capital facility that has left some motorists waiting up to a year.
The strategy was announced during the opening of a new DVLA site at Amrahia, located within the Adenta Municipality. Under the change, local branches will process and output cards directly, replacing a bottlenecked system where just two machines at headquarters handled demand for the entire country.
Addressing attendees at the ceremony, DVLA Chief Executive Julius Neequaye Kotey confirmed that while offices will gain local printing capabilities, same-day service will initially be limited to replacement cards for drivers whose existing licenses have expired after six years. First-time drivers must still complete the required three-month application procedure before receiving their card, in line with international requirements.
“Every station, every office in Ghana, we have one centralised point to print licence forms. And that is the head office. We have only two machines printing for the whole of Ghana.
Now we are doing decentralisation so that every office of the authority of DVLA can print its own licence. Then the situation where one person comes to buy a licence for one year, before he or she gets it, should be a thing of the past.
“Every office will now print, but we are printing instantly, for only replacement of cards. When your six years have expired, we will now print for you instantly. But when you are coming for a new licence, you have to go through the three months before you get your card. That is ISO; it goes beyond Ghana. It is an international standard.”
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana