Julius Neequaye Kotey is the CEO of the DVLA
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has clarified that it will not deploy domestic staff abroad to provide driver licensing services, following public backlash over reports suggesting otherwise.
In a statement issued by the Authority and attributed to its Chief Executive Officer, Julius Neequaye Kotey, on Thursday, February 26, 2026, the DVLA described earlier media reports as misleading and explained that its planned initiative aims to improve access to services for Ghanaians living outside the country.
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According to the statement, the Authority, through an arrangement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will collaborate with Ghana’s diplomatic missions to provide selected services to qualified Ghanaian citizens abroad.
The pilot phase is expected to cover the United States, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
“For clarity, the DVLA, through an arrangement with the Foreign Affairs Ministry, has agreed to collaborate with Ghana’s embassies across the globe to provide selected services, including International Driver’s Permits and Driver’s Licence Renewals, to qualified Ghanaian citizens domiciled in other countries.
“The pilot phase will be undertaken in the United States, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and the High Commission of the United Kingdom,” the statement said.
The DVLA explained that under the implementation plan, embassy staff will be trained to verify applicants’ documents before forwarding them to Ghana for processing.
It added that processed documents will subsequently be returned to the respective missions for collection by applicants.
“As part of the implementation plan, the DVLA will provide training to embassy staff to verify documents and forward them to the DVLA for processing. Once processing is complete, the Authority will return the processed documents to the various embassies for pick-up by applicants,” the statement explained.
Management stressed that the initiative does not involve posting DVLA staff to work at embassies in the listed countries, contrary to claims circulating on social media.
The Authority maintained that the move forms part of efforts to bring services closer to citizens, reduce compliance challenges, and improve service delivery.
“This operation does not in any way mean that the DVLA would post its domestic staff to work at embassies in the aforementioned countries, as the news headlines sought to portray,” it clarified.
The clarification follows intense public criticism after reports emerged that DVLA personnel would travel to multiple countries to handle licensing issues for Ghanaians in the diaspora.
Critics argued that many Ghanaians abroad do not require Ghanaian driver’s licences and warned that the exercise could result in unnecessary public expenditure.
Notable personalities, including investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, lawyer Oliver Barker-Vormawor, and Constitutional Review Commission Chairman Professor Kwasi Prempeh, publicly questioned the rationale behind the initiative and called for greater scrutiny.
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Despite the criticism, the DVLA reiterated its commitment to transparency and urged the public and media to seek clarification from its Corporate Affairs Department to avoid misinformation.
MAG/MA
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