Effective next week, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) will issue driver’s licence to Ghanaians within two weeks after satisfying all requirements, authorities have announced.

The DVLA has come under criticism over the years for delays in issuing qualified persons with a driver’s licence, something that has created a booming business for unapproved agents (goro boys) who charge people huge sums of money claiming to facilitate the process.

But the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority, Ing. John Appiah, says they are committed to ensuring that persons who apply for licence are unreasonably delayed after satisfying all the mandatory requirements.

“We have made a commitment that from the middle of August, any Ghanaian who goes through the capturing process should not wait for more than two weeks before they get their licenses,” he said on 3FM’s morning show, Sunrise, on Wednesday. Ing. Appiah said the DVLA conducted a survey which revealed that a lot of customers were not satisfied with their services, prompting an introduction of a strategy and investment in equipment to improve on their services. “We have trained staff and we are on the part to deliver now,” he assured.

Ing. Appiah also revealed that an ongoing restructuring programme that will among other things, introduce a new module to help young people in tertiary institutions to be trained in driving to be issued with driver’s licence when they graduate.

“We know most of our customers are young people in schools who are busy, so we believe that this will make them comfortable in working with us,” he said.

Under this initiative, the DVLA in collaboration with the authorities of the various tertiary institutions is hoping to train over 50,000 students every year on their various campuses, saying “the DVLA will do the training in schools and on campuses so that by the time students are out of school, they are well equipped”.