Business News of Monday, 20 September 2021
Source: business24.com.gh
2021-09-20
Board chairman of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Mr. Frank Davies
The board chairman of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Mr. Frank Davies, has appealed to the government to increase the authority’s share of the Road Fund to enable it undertake planned reforms.
The DVLA currently receives 15 percent of the fund, a portion which it feels is not commensurate with its activities and new responsibilities it is expected to carry out.
“We plead most specially with you [the Transport Minister] to look into the Road Fund for us. Our percentage still stands at 15 percent,” said Mr. Davies during the inauguration of the board in Accra.
“With the announcement you have made regarding the tracking system for articulated trucks and other heavy equipment, which will be rolled out soon, we have added responsibility, and that comes with onerous financial obligations,” he added.
Kafui Semevo, Director, Driver Training, Testing and Licensing at DVLA, also backed the call from the board chairman by arguing that the authority bears the full cost of printing roadworthy certificates, adding that what it receives from the Road Fund is not adequate to support its activities and operations.
“We have introduced a lot of technologies, and there is the need for roadworthy certification to also be automated—and this does not come cheap. We are hopeful the review of the percentage would be appreciable to enable us to implement all the reforms we plan to undertake,” he told Business24 in an interview.
The DVLA is expected to begin the registration and tracking of earth-moving equipment that is brought into the country. It also continues to decentralise its activities and is in the process of opening four new branch offices in four districts of the country.