The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) is the national regulatory body which serves as the main pivot of road safety in the country.
Under Act 589 of 1999, the DVLA, which was once known as the Vehicle Examination and Licensing Division (VELD) of the Ministry of Transport, is responsible for the licensing and evaluation of drivers and vehicles in the country.
By implication, DVLA is to register all vehicles, including motorcycles, and ensure that these vehicles are roadworthy, to promote safety on the roads and at other public places. It is also mandated to test and issue valid driver’s licences to all those who qualify for them.
These responsibilities have been captured in DVLA's own mission statement which says: "To promote road safety and environmental sustainability, while pursuing integrity, excellence, professionalism and reliability in service delivery."
These are noble objectives that can only be achieved by a responsible institution manned by dedicated, honest and hard-working men and women. The reason is obvious. Any slip on the part of DVLA means a vehicle that is not properly registered will be on the road, which is not only dangerous but also has security implications. It means an unqualified person with no driver’s licence will be behind the wheels, with serious consequences. It means any metal contraption which is not roadworthy will still be on the road, posing a threat to its users and other road users.
The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service is to ensure that vehicles and drivers comply strictly with the motor traffic regulations. But that does not mean it can correct the mistakes or take over the work of the DVLA.
The DVLA is not just a road safety regulator but a security apparatus, since in the event of any criminal activity, information from the DVLA can assist the law enforcement or security agencies in their investigations.
The DVLA is, therefore, an institution that cannot be run anyhow. It must operate within strict regulations for compliance and must be accessible to all persons who want to do business with it without any hindrance or unnecessary pressure.
In spite of the many proclamations, there are still a sizeable number of people who drive without valid licences. There are also a good number of vehicles on the roads which, to even the visible eye, should not be there.
While we blame recalcitrance for some of these anomalies, there are quite a number of people who will tell you the frustrations they go through when trying to operate within the law in the offices of the DVLA.
Processing documents at the DVLA is a nightmare, to put it mildly. While the management of DVLA continues to assure the public that doing business with the authority is simple and straightforward and, therefore, advises that nobody should go through middlemen, otherwise known as Goro Boys, anyone who has gone through the process will admit that things are not that simple.
What explanation can be given for the situation where people carrying piles of documents belonging to different vehicle owners go from one office to another with relative ease while those who want to go through the same process on their own spend all day in the corridors of DVLA?
The sullen look on the faces of frustrated members of the public who find themselves in the confines of the DVLA to do official business tells a big story which the management cannot ignore or take for granted.
Loud speakers continue to blur messages warning the public not to do business with the Goro Boys, but it appears their operations have been institutionalised to the extent that bypassing them to do business is the least prudent thing to do, at least for now. This also explains why some people are prepared to breach the law rather than subject themselves to those harrowing experiences.
If there is a listening head at DVLA, he/she should not attempt to give any explanation which will not offer any solution to the problem. He/she should go ahead and do the right thing — clean the stable of all iniquities and make that vital state institution public-friendly.
It should be possible for any law-abiding citizen to register a new vehicle and renew a driver’s licence within an hour and still have enough time to go to his/her workplace or attend to other businesses.
We seem to have many excuses for our failures. Let us make the effort to succeed here as others have done in their countries. Bureaucracy and corruption, its bedfellow, are suffocating us.
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