At least 300 commercial drivers operating in four towns in the Afram Plains area in the Eastern Region are without licence, officials have discovered.

According to the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority [DVLA] in the region, some of those who have licences are expired, while some vehicles being used commercially are without the proper registration and renewals.

While some of the drivers are unaware they ought to procure a driver’s licence before they can operate, others blame their refusal to obtain or renew their drivers’ licence and that of their vehicles on the long distance they have to travel to the DVLA office.

The Afram Plains is one of the biggest food baskets of the country, and largely bounded by the Volta Lake. It is a terrain where most of the people use motorbikes and tractors to carry passengers and goods.

The Nkawkaw DVLA Office, which is responsible for the area, is 150 miles from the Kwahu Afram plains. The office is not required to issue licences or register vehicles as it only has a supervisory role in the four districts under it.

Drivers and vehicle owners in the area thus have to travel either to Koforidua or Asante Mampong in the Ashanti Region, to be able to obtain a driver’s licence or register their vehicles; a situation they find discouraging.

According to the drivers who are from Ekyeamanfrom, Maame krobo, Donkorkrom and Tease in the Afram Plains North and South districts, the frustration people have to go through at these two DVLA offices even discourage them the more.

Andy Amenakpor, the Nkawkaw DVLA Manager told TV3 it is unfortunate that the vehicles being used in the area have not been registered and some drivers are operating without licence as required by law.

He noted that some of the drivers don’t know the processes of acquiring a driver’s licence, adding it is against this backdrop that they have started training the drivers in the area on the processes as stated in the law.

Already, drivers at Maame Krobo and Donkorkrom are being trained by the DVLA officials who intend to move to Tease and Ekyeamanfrom and beyond.

Mr Amenakpor said they intend to hit hard at drivers who fail to make use of the opportunity, adding those who fail to go through a driving school lessons would not be allowed to secure a licence, and advised them to only patronise duly registered driving schools.

He said beyond the legal ramifications of not registering vehicles or not obtaining a driver’s licence, the State is losing a lot of revenue.