Investment in technology has paid off – DVLA
Mr Prince Opoku Edusei, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Operations, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), says government’s investment in cutting edge technology has improved the Authority’s service delivery.
Through the use of technology, the Deputy CEO said, the Authority had digitised over two million manual documents from 1995 to 2017, and was working assiduously to complete the rest to deliver better services to the public.
He was speaking at the second virtual Results Fair in Accra organised by the Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation for Agencies and Ministries implementing the 17 priority areas to share their achievements with the public.
The Event was on the theme: “Promoting Efficiency and Accountability in Public Service Delivery”.
He said over the years, aside inefficiency and poor customer service issues, the Authority had been dealing with the phenomenon of “Goro boys”, which had stained its corporate image, and caused revenue losses.
Mr Edusei said in 2017, the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) ranked the Authority as the most corrupt institution in the country but the GII in 2019 recognized the DVLA as the best policy reform institution.
He said DVLA embarked on a two-year strategic plan dubbed: “Double, Double Business plan”, “Double, double”, with the aim of doubling the revenue, integrity and impact of the Authority.
Mr Edusei said the plan aimed at the use of technology in the application or acquisition of driver’s licence and registration of vehicles as well as other services rendered.
This, he said, was in furtherance of President Akuffo-Addo’s digital transformation agenda for the country.
The strategic business plan, he explained, focused on six tactical action plans; the creation of a new and highly enhanced image, ensuring serious optimization via technology, ensuring financial autonomy and sustainability, being customer focused, developing human capital and launching a vigorous research into business development and innovation.
He said with these innovations, the Authority had reduced the vehicle registration processes from 13 steps to six through the collaboration with its stakeholders.
The Deputy CEO said the Authority now printed driver licence cards within 30 minutes, two weeks or at most a month, as required by clients through effective use of technological advancement.
Mr William Kwasi Sabi, the Deputy Minister of Monitoring and Evaluation, said the government under the World Bank-funded Public Sector Reform for Results Project, was implementing the Ghana Results Fair to enhance service delivery in the public sector.
He said the fair was one of government’s efforts to promote inclusive engagement and interaction between the public sector and the citizenry to promote evidence-based decision-making and improve accountability for results.
Source: GNA