The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) announced it has plans to integrate its database with the National Identification Authority (NIA) by the first quarter of 2023.
The Chief Executive Officer, Kwasi Agyeman Busia, who disclosed this, said the authority has already connected its technology infrastructure with the NIA database while working on applications that would ensure that national identification cards (Ghana Cards) are integrated into the system.
Busia explained that the technology infrastructure is ready, tried and tested. What needs to happen now is the application that the authority needs to work on.
“We have to do some coding on the application part to make sure that the systems are feeding into each other or handshaking so that once a person comes to DVLA and gives us their Ghana Card, we get every information about them,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer said a seamless integration between the DVLA and the NIA would also facilitate business with other stakeholder agencies such as the National Insurance Commission, the Motor Traffic and Transport Division, and the National Road Safety Authority.
He added many user agencies were negotiating with the DVLA to hook up to their database for ease of doing business, stressing also that the integration with the NIA would help to create a good data warehouse for real-time information on drivers and vehicles.
Busia said that the integration will eliminate the need to spend two hours in the office filling out forms, when applying for a driver’s licence. “Once you give us your Ghana Card, we should be able to pull your data and make use of it,” he explained.
This is similar to the integration of bank verification numbers (BVN), SIM cards, and National Identification Numbers (NIN) in Nigeria.
As part of the Ghanaian government’s efforts to remove the need for human interaction from the process of issuing new licences, a smart driver’s licence was introduced in the country in 2017. This made Ghana the first nation in West Africa to do so.
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) of Ghana is the government agency responsible for the licensing and evaluation of drivers and cars in Ghana.
