DVLA online service: What benefits?
The efficient proliferation of information in our world today is essential as it promotes communication and a better understanding of the world within which we live. Information and communication technology (ICT) has become the tool through which knowledge is shared to promote socio-economic development.
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ICT is said to be a no respecter of culture, and with its advent, it may have negatively impacted on certain cultures and Ghana is no exception. However, the proper application of ICT in our various fields of endeavour could go a long way to positively impact on our economy, achieving phenomenal results that could propel Ghana from its present situation to that of an enviable economy.
DVLA was established by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority Act, Act 569 of 1993 to promote good driving standards in the country and to ensure the use of roadworthy vehicles on the roads and at other public places.
It exists to ensure best practice for licensing drivers and vehicles to promote road safety and environmental sustainability, while pursuing integrity, excellence, professionalism and reliability in service delivery.
In ensuring the effective pursuit of its mandate, it has had to embark on the automation of its operations and services in a continuous effort to transform the DVLA into an effective and efficient organisation through business innovation, best practices and re-engineering.
As part of the automation, the authority launched an online service for customer registration and service request that will allow its cherished customers access to DVLA services 24/7 from the comfort of their homes before finalising the process in any of the DVLA offices dotted strategically all over the country.
The innovation is to promote speedy and efficient access to driver license and vehicle information, data security, as well as customer sharing of data and information among major stakeholders and, most importantly, promote client satisfaction.
The services that can be transacted online include driver licensing activities such as learner licence, renewal of licence, conversion of foreign licence, international driver permit and others.
With regards to vehicle registration, the online services will include vehicle registration, transfer of ownership, renewal of registration, vehicle lay-off, international vehicle permit and roadworthy certificate, among others.
The new system will run concurrently with the manual system until the end of September, this year when the manual system will then be phased out. Currently, the automation is being piloted at the Accra, Tema and Weija offices of the DVLA. It is expected that when it becomes fully operational, the automation will transform the DVLA into a highly effective organisation.
Transportation is a major contributor to the development of any country, therefore, there is the need for the DVLA to inject efficiency and reliability into its operations.
Over the years, the motor-vehicle administration in the country has been undermined by the activities of middlemen who have cut corners to obtain false documents for unqualified road users. The resultant effect has been the perennial undesired carnage on our roads which has resulted in the significant loss of human lives and revenue to the state.
So what is the issue? The Deputy Director, Management Information Systems at the DVLA, Mr Alex Owusu-Abebrese, explained that over the years, complaints were received that DVLA’s services and procedures were cumbersome and one could not get anything done in good time, resulting in people using middlemen, popularly referred to as ‘goro boys.’
He said there were a lot of challenges such as revenue leakages on the part of the government and provision of fictitious documents to customers when people used the ‘goro boys’ instead of the right channel.
Mr Owusu-Abebrese said considering the complaints, the DVLA decided that the best way to address the concerns was to use ICT to deliver some of its services to its valued customers. “Management and the board decided that ICT would be the platform to ensure that our services were well rendered to our customers without delay and with some satisfaction,” he said.
According to him, “this is the time because when we started about five years ago, there was a challenge to get the staff to accept but now the staff have accepted. This is the way things must be done now using ICT.” It is said that practice makes perfect. By nature, change is sometimes difficult but with determination and time, one gets acclimatised to the situation.
Statistics show that 1,539 people lost their lives between January and September, 2013, while 9,741 were reported injured as a result of road accidents. Statistics for the country from January to September, 2013 stood at 10,558 road accidents and between January, 2000 and December, 2010, 20,503 people died on the roads in the country, while 63,348 were reported injured.
The issue of road accidents in the country is certainly not the best, it is worrisome and must not be taken for granted. Stakeholders such as the DVLA, National Road Safety Commission, police, transport unions and operators ought to wake up and seriously fight against the problem that has become a developmental challenge in the country.
It is important to note that bureaucracy and the cumbersome procedures in service delivery in our institutions account for corruption and some challenges we face as a country because people would have no option than to go behind doors to get their work done faster, which also has negative consequences on the individual, society and the nation as a whole. However, if there are proper measures and mechanisms to facilitate service delivery in our institutions, all of these will become a thing of the past.
In 2005, when the DVLA decided to automate its revenue collection system, the comments were that it would become a white elephant because people do not know how to use ICT. Little did one think that the move will set the pace for the Ministry of Finance to buy the idea and request all revenue collection agencies in the country to have on-side banking. This attests to the fact that in life, there is no harm in trying.
We must accept change because without it, it will be seemingly impossible to develop as a nation. Change is surely a panacea to good things, and as a nation, we must embrace change for our own good.
Nonetheless, the issue of the sustainability of this project is cardinal, since there is the perception about the negative maintenance culture in the country. System reviews ought to be taken seriously in order to ensure its effectiveness and sustainability for a very long time, bearing in mind that the DVLA has an obligation to serve the public and the nation as whole and cannot afford to fail.
In this light, the vision of the DVLA to be a reputable organisation with internationally accepted standards for driver and vehicle licensing is a step in the right direction.
The online service is the beginning and working together with prospective clients is the way forward to achieving success. The onus now lies on us all to patronise the facility for an improvement in the service delivery at the DVLA as we all yearn for.
— The writer is a staff of Information Services Department.