Nearly 5% of vehicle plates in Ghana are fake - DVLA boss

The Chief Executive Officer of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Julius Neequaye Kotey, has disclosed that almost five per cent of vehicle number plates in use across Ghana are counterfeit.

Mr Kotey made this known during an interview on Accra-based TV3, where he stressed the importance of placing the embossing of vehicle number plates under the control of a single authorised company to improve security and safeguard motorists.

He explained that vehicle number plates are classified as security documents and should therefore be produced under strict supervision.

“From a security standpoint, this is to protect the Ghanaian consumer. You cannot allow just anyone, anywhere, to emboss number plates. A number plate is a security document, and we must be very careful about who produces them and for what purpose,” he said.

According to the DVLA Chief Executive, internal records indicate that close to five per cent of vehicles captured in the Authority’s database are fitted with fake plates acquired through illegal channels.

He explained that some individuals exploit vehicles that have been completely damaged in accidents by copying their registration numbers and producing duplicate plates. Others, he noted, obtain numbers from abandoned farm machinery or falsified documents.

“There are various methods they use. Sometimes they pass through police stations. Vehicles that are written off after accidents are identified, their registration numbers copied and re-embossed. Some also take numbers from farm equipment that never returns to the road. Others go as far as photocopying customs documents and using the same registration numbers on vehicles that have not paid duty,” he explained.

Mr Kotey said the introduction of new DVLA number plates embedded with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips would significantly reduce the problem.

“This system will eliminate these practices because it includes a cloning detection feature. RFID billboards will be installed along major highways, and once a vehicle with an unrecognised number plate passes, a signal will be sent directly to our command centre,” he said.

He added that the planned rollout of a new toll system further reinforces the need for RFID-enabled plates.

“A new toll booth system is coming, and we are engaging the Ghana Highway Authority. For the toll system to function effectively, the number plates must be embedded with RFID chips so they can communicate with it,” he noted.