A growing controversy has emerged over plans by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to extend driver licensing services abroad, after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs publicly denied approving any such arrangement.

The disagreement follows earlier reports that the DVLA would deploy selected staff to five countries across Europe and North America to provide licensing services for Ghanaians living overseas.

CEO’s Announcement

The DVLA’s Chief Executive Officer, Julius Neequaye Kotey, made the initial announcement during the commissioning of a new DVLA office at Bantama in the Ashanti Region.

According to him, the Foreign Affairs Ministry had approved the posting of personnel to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands to offer services such as licence renewals to diaspora Ghanaians.

“Some of you, the DVLA staff, you are travelling overseas to go and provide services in five countries outside… We have gotten approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for them to travel and do this for Ghanaians staying abroad,” he said at the event.

A resurfaced May 12, 2025 social media post by the CEO also indicated that he had met with the Foreign Affairs Minister to discuss preparations toward opening foreign offices for licensing and registration services abroad, including plans to pilot the initiative in multiple countries.

DVLA Clarifies Position

However, the DVLA later issued a statement seeking to correct what it described as “misleading media reports.”

The authority clarified that it would not be posting domestic staff to embassies abroad. Instead, it said it had partnered with Ghana’s diplomatic missions, where embassy staff would be trained to verify documents locally before forwarding applications to Ghana for processing.

Under the proposed pilot phase, services such as International Driver’s Permits and driver’s licence renewals would be made available to qualified Ghanaians in the same five countries earlier mentioned.

Processed documents, the DVLA explained, would then be returned to the embassies for collection by applicants.

The authority said the move is aimed at bringing services closer to citizens, reducing defaults, and improving compliance.

Foreign Affairs Ministry Pushes Back

In a separate statement on Thursday evening, the Foreign Affairs Ministry flatly rejected claims that it had sanctioned any overseas deployment of DVLA personnel.

The ministry, led by Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, stated that no directive, approval, or formal engagement had been issued to diplomatic missions regarding the arrangement.

“There has been no formal engagement, no new policy, and no financial commitment regarding this matter,” the Ministry said, adding that it has no record of the purported initiative.

It further urged the public to verify information before circulating reports and reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and prudent public service delivery.

Public Debate

The contrasting statements have sparked debate on social media, with many pointing to apparent communication gaps between the two state institutions.

While the DVLA maintains that it is working to make licensing services more accessible to Ghanaians abroad, the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s denial has raised questions about whether the initiative has received the necessary inter-ministerial approvals.

For now, it remains unclear how or when the proposed overseas services will proceed.