Former Chief Executive Officer of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, has refuted suggestions that the new vehicle registration numbering system is an innovation of the current Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) leadership.

He insists the project began under the Akufo-Addo administration and was fully developed during the tenure of former DVLA Chief Executive, Kwasi Agyeman Busia.

“The new numbering system that the DVLA Chief Executive speaks about as an innovation his administration is about to introduce, was conceived during the era of the former Chief Executive, Mr Kwasi Agyeman Busia,” Mr Ofosu Nkansah stated.

He explained that the design—removing the year of registration and introducing two alphabetic suffixes—was approved by then Transport Minister, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, and had gone through several years of consultations and legislative processes.

According to him, by 2021 securitised blank plates had already been procured in anticipation of the system’s rollout, but implementation was delayed because amendments to the Road Traffic Regulations (LI 2180) and the passage of the new Fees and Charges Act were not completed on time.

He argued that the current DVLA leadership is misleading the public by presenting the reform as its own.

“He is trying hard to discredit his predecessor but forgets that the people who are working with him at DVLA are the same people who worked on these policies before he became Chief Executive,” Mr Ofosu Nkansah said.

The former NEIP boss urged Julius Neequaye Kotey, the new DVLA Chief Executive, to acknowledge the groundwork done before his appointment.

“He should learn to give credit where it is due and highlight the changes he wishes to implement on top of what he met. This character of rubbishing the efforts of a management team that made DVLA what it is today is shameful, to say the least,” Mr Ofosu Nkansah remarked, adding that Ghanaians are discerning enough to know the history of the reform.