The Weija Office of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) says it is making progress in the biometric registration of vehicles, registering 24 cars on the first day, January 2nd.

On January 3, however, about 50 had been registered, recording 74 vehicles. Out of the 74 vehicles registered, ten were commercial, 54 private and ten motorbikes.

Ms Roselyn Ahensah, Manager at the Weija DVLA Office, made this known in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA).

She explained that the registration process was slow on the first day but had seen much improvement on the second day.

“At first, only regions and some few districts were doing registration but now we have opened up and so a lot of districts are also doing registration.”

This, she said, put some pressure on the application system which slowed down the process at the initial stage.

She however attributed the initial slow pace largely to customers who could not get their importers, that is, the owners of the vehicles, to verify for them.

She explained that when DVLA operated the manual system, some customers would bring anybody’s picture and ID and claim that to be for the importer.

But now under the biometric system, she said without the importer, there was no way the registration could be done, because the importer should be around to verify and approve for registration to be done.

“On the first day, we were having some challenges, especially with buyers who came with individuals as importers. Buyers were complaining that they cannot find their importers. But when we insisted, some of them have brought their importers, and now we are able to continue the registration process for them,” Ms Ahensah noted.

She indicated that the Office increased the number of officers inspecting vehicles and those in charge of invoicing. There were National Service Personnel also assisting with the process. Issuing of numbers was also going faster now.

She said with the increased number of personnel, the registration process would go faster.

“I will advise the public that it’s a new system we have started. But it is a very good system. We are doing this to wipe away impersonation, where a buyer could just use anybody’s picture to be an importer. At the end of the day when the original importer comes, he can send DVLA to court that his vehicle has been registered but with a different person’s ID.” Ms Ahensah said.

She added that the new system was also meant to prevent stolen vehicles and fraud.

“When paying money for a vehicle, buyers should familiarise themselves with the importers and ensure that the documents an importer provides bear the actual name of that importer.

This will make the registration process smooth for customers.

“As a buyer, make sure that the one you are giving your money to is ready to come to DVLA with you to register the vehicle. The importers should also know that without them, there is no way we can register the vehicle for the buyers,” she emphasised.

She informed that the Authority also had an online registration, which had the facial verification input that could be used in situations where the importer could not be physically available at the DVLA office.

However, with the facial verification, the person would need a stable internet connection to do it successfully, she added.

“The new system makes the work easier for us. When you are signing somebody’s documents, you will not be afraid that you are doing something that will get you into trouble at the end of the day because you are able to see and verify the person with the name and the ID. So, you have the confidence to carry your official duty,” she explained.

She cautioned customers to avoid the use of “goro guys” and deal directly with the DVLA officers.

Nana Akosua Nyame, a customer, told the GNA that she came to the Office on the first day to register but could not complete the process because her importer was not available to do the verification.

She said she came back with the importer on the second day and was able to complete registration.