The Driver, Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA) is about to introduce a new number plate. It is called the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) number plate and is intended to replace the plates of the millions of vehicles operating in Ghana.
As is the case, the new number plate will come at a cost to the vehicle-owner, with benefits that are doubtful in the extreme. It will however entail significant discomfort, in that all vehicle owners will be forced to comply.
The Daily Searchlight has noticed, over the decades and years, that new political administrations that takes over the helm of the management of our nation finds a way to rip off drivers and vehicle owners, and we believe that the latest attempt is just one effort at achieving the same.
In the past, some governments have insisted that taxis be branded with certain colours; that commercial cars carry special reflector tapes; that commercial vehicles be branded with the districts from which they operate; that vehicle numbers be changed and many more inconveniences mounted against the vehicle owner without significant benefits to the end user. |And without debate or education.
We believe that given the scale of the latest exercise, which would encompass millions of vehicles within a very short time, there is the need to engage in wider consultation and education with the general public, as well as a debate as to the usefulness of the exercise, and a rationale to the public as to why the current system cannot be improved to deliver the same results.
For instance, if it is about security, the current plates can be captured in a database for the use of the police in real time. That would be cheaper and entail less discomfort for the end-user.
Again, the new system can be operated alongside the old system, using the database. Or better yet, the new system can be spread over a number of years, renewable at any time a vehicle has to go for the annual verification tests.
We believe that every public policy has a responsibility to ensure the comfort and wellbeing of the end-user, and a policy such as this, that will affect every single Ghanaian as well as significant financial cost to the same, should not be embarked upon until the necessary education and consultation has been done.
(Editorial of the Daily Searchlight of 22nd December, 2025).
