Ghana’s Vice President and 2024 Presidential Candidate of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is pushing for a significant overhaul of the country’s driver’s license renewal process.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), responsible for promoting good driving standards and ensuring the roadworthiness of vehicles, mandates that all driver’s license holders renew or validate their licenses every two years.
This frequent renewal process has led to frustrations among motorists, who often face harassment from both DVLA officials and the police over non-renewed licenses.
Dr. Bawumia, speaking to chiefs and stakeholders at Boadua in the Akwatia Constituency of the Eastern Region, expressed his dissatisfaction with the current system.
“Drivers are here. Today, the driver’s license expires every two years. Let us extend it, be it 8 years or 10 years. Let us make sure you can have a driver’s license without having to renew it every year. It does not make sense, and so by the grace of God, we would make changes,” he stated.
Unlike Ghanaian passports, which are renewed every ten years, driver’s licenses currently require renewal every two years—a system that Bawumia views as inconvenient for motorists.
This proposed change aims to reduce the inconvenience faced by drivers and align the renewal process more closely with other identification systems, such as passports.