An attempt by the Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana to demonstrate against the newly issued Smart Driver's license, Tuesday, was halted as Police disagreed with the use of vehicles in staging the demonstration.
Public Relations officer of the association, David Aboagye stated that although they were in support of the new smart licensing system, the cost involved in acquiring it is quite expensive."They are charging us GHc155 but initially, it was GHc64; we agreed since this time around, we were all consulted before its implementation. However, we were always emphasizing the price because it is too high", he said.
Meanwhile, Director in charge of operations at the Greater Accra Regional police command, Chief Superintendent Kwesi Ofori explaining why the planned demonstration was not allowed said, "They wrote a letter to the police that they want to demonstrate, however, they wanted to do a vehicular demonstration which would have brought together over 100 vehicles running through the streets of Accra; considering the traffic levels and public security, we cannot allow this kind of demonstration to be held."
 Some of the local drivers have also expressed that the new smart driver's license cannot completely eliminate the activities of the middlemen popularly known as 'Goro boys' who have been causing challenges in the licensing regime.
 They added that even though the DVLA has estimated the cost at an additional GH₵91, they will end up paying much more because they have experienced how these systems work in recent times.
The new Smart Drivers' license which was launched today contains a chip loaded with the owner’s bio-data and the driver’s personal information.
The new digital card will advance the acquisition of new drivers' licenses as applicants will now be able to obtain it within two to four weeks of application.
Acquiring the new drivers' license will attract an additional Gh₵91 separate from the present charges on all other services including replacement (Gh₵64 + Gh₵91 = Gh₵155), new license (Gh₵166 +Gh₵91 = Gh₵257) and transferring a foreign license to Ghanaian one (Gh₵364 + Gh₵91 = Gh₵445).
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