Ablakwa Accused of Hypocrisy After Denying Knowledge of DVLA Plan for Licensing Services Abroad

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied approving the deployment of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority staff for foreign licensing services
• The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, faced criticism over his reaction to the plan
• The authority earlier complained that there were misleading reports on the role its staff would play in this plan abroad

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has dismissed reports claiming it approved the deployment of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority staff to help provide licensing services to citizens outside Ghana.

The ministry said it is unaware of any new government policy on the matter and has no record of formal engagement, financial commitments, or policy directives supporting the claims.

This reaction may appear contrary to earlier indications from the Authority, which said it met the Foreign Affairs Ministry on the matter.

The sector minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, shared the statement on X, prompting criticism from people who recalled a May 2025 meeting with Julius Neequaye Kotey, Chief Executive Officer of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, on the matter.

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During the meeting, Kotey said it was agreed to pilot this exercise in six foreign countries with the intention of bringing additional countries on board.

"The Minister of Foreign Affairs therefore formed a committee of officials and experts to handle the modalities and to layout an implementation plan."

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs now says it has neither issued a directive to diplomatic missions abroad nor granted approval to any entity for such an arrangement.

Online, some wondered why Ablakwa issued a clarification now, despite the plan being announced in May 2025.

"One wonders why Ablakwa didn't find it expedient to issue a disclaimer then---but now that his colleague's back is against the wall. This betrayal can cause a lot of psychological damage to the young man."

Others accused Ablakwa of betraying a fellow government appointee.

A lot of the criticism was accompanied by a screenshot of Kotey sharing news of the meeting with Ablakwa.

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"You will know that our Chief Diplomat is a cunning and dangerous politician," one commenter remarked.

Why does DVLA want to provide licensing abroad?

The authority said this move was in line with its focus on decentralising and digitising services to improve compliance and reduce defaults.

It faced scrutiny for its plan to deploy staff abroad to help provide licensing services to citizens outside Ghana. Kotey had announced that staff would be going abroad.

The authority, however, stressed that the staff being deployed will only train Ghana embassy staff abroad as part of piloting the plan.

In a statement on Facebook, it said the pilot phase will start in the US, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

Piloting of the Ghana Card abroad

In September 2024, YEN.com.gh reported that the National Identification Authority extended Ghana Card services to Ghanaians in North America as part of a pilot exercise.

The first beneficiary cities were Ottawa and Ontario in Canada, and Washington DC and New York in the US.

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Its officials and its technical partner were training embassy staff to serve as registration officers.

Source: YEN.com.gh