The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Julius Neequaye Kotey, has revealed that his administration inherited massive debts totalling nearly $200 million and GH₵300 million when they took over operations at the Authority.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Mr Kotey said the financial state of the DVLA came as a shock, and the figures uncovered pointed to what he described as “misplaced priorities” under the previous management.

“In our dollar account, it was close to 200 million dollars, and in the cedi account, it was close to 300 million Ghana cedis,” he disclosed.

While Mr Kotey refrained from pointing fingers directly, he questioned the decisions that led to the current financial burden. “I am not here to slant anyone, but I feel it is misplaced priorities. There were a lot of projects that we didn’t need then. But I wasn’t the one taking the decisions,” he said.

To ensure full transparency and accountability, he confirmed that an external audit has been initiated. “We’ve called for external auditing. The internal auditors have done their work. We are calling for external auditors, and they will be starting very soon. Then I will be able to inform the public properly on what really happened based on the audit report,” he added.

One major area of concern raised by Mr Kotey was the roadworthiness certification contract signed by the previous administration. He revealed that the deal required DVLA to pay $5.8 million annually for a system that could have been handled internally.

“There is this issue about the roadworthy system. We have a contract with someone who provides us with roadworthy. Now, the system again comes with hardware, software intelligence in all DVLA stations and that one alone costs Ghana $5.8 million annually,” he said.

He argued that the DVLA already had an in-house system for printing roadworthy certificates and could have improved it rather than outsourcing it.

“Even if people are faking it, it is incumbent on you to change the design. You continue to add more security features, enhance it to make it more efficient and robust. But for you to leave that one and sign a three-year contract…”

He further stated that no payments were made on the contract before the change in leadership, leaving the full cost as a burden on the current administration.

“Mind you, they never paid one cedi before leaving office, and that debt is still there for Mother Ghana to pay. It is a three-year contract, and this year marks the end. So that’s $5.8 million a year, times three. It is no joke for Mother Ghana.

"So that is one of the projects I think we shouldn’t have even embarked on," he said.