Registration, vehicles with foreign inscriptions

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority Act, 1999 (Act 569) brought into being the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), which was a renaming of Vehicle Examination & Licensing Division (VELD) of the Ministry of Transport.

The object of the authority is to promote good driving standards in the country and ensure the use of roadworthy vehicles on the roads, amongst others.

Section 3 on functions of the authority states that: “(1) For the purpose of achieving its object under Section 2, the authority shall have the following function(s)—  (h) issue vehicle registration certificates.”

The essence of registration is two-fold: to ensure that vehicles are tested and certified as roadworthy for use; the other is to identity the vehicles as unmistakably Ghanaian, operating in a specific environment.

By the confluence of these objectives, a vehicle certified as roadworthy in Ghana is localised as a vehicle of Ghana and also identified as a Ghanaian vehicle within ECOWAS.

Article 41 of the Constitution says…it shall be the duty of every citizen — (a) to promote the prestige and good name of Ghana and respect the symbols of the nation.

Interpretation, application

It is in the interpretation and application of this article that I take issues with the DVLA and charge them with a conduct that is inconsistent with the letter and spirit of Article 41 (a).

This article requires a generous interpretation, as its meaning and application go beyond the words in it. The article has two parts: the first being to promote the prestige and good name of Ghana; the second is, respect the symbols of the nation.

To my mind, the word ‘citizen’ comprises all Ghanaians, regardless of whether they are in employment or not.  A duty has been imposed on us:  “To promote the prestige and good name of Ghana.”

This means we must take actions or do things that show national self-respect or do things that give glory, enhance the reputation or confer distinction on Ghana; conversely, we must not do things that embarrass the nation or reduce our self-esteem or damage our integrity.

As regards ‘symbols of the nation’, we have the national flag, coat of arms, national anthem and, I must add, vehicle registration numbers too!

Promote

When the Constitution says the citizens must promote the prestige and good name of Ghana, it enjoins the State to be proactive in taking conscious steps or actions that will generate among her citizens respect for the nation, love for the country, loyalty to the State and reverence for Ghana.

It is when these elements are present that the citizens too, in reaction to the prevailing ethos, will be assiduous in promoting the prestige and good name of Ghana.

Where the State is indifferent to its own self-esteem and self-image or ‘good name’, what is there for the citizens to defend or fight for? That is to say, the “prestige and good name” must first exist to be promoted by the citizens.

Since the DVLA exists for the purposes of registering vehicles in Ghana, it must answer the questions: Why does it register vehicles, without insisting on the erasure of the foreign inscriptions on the vehicles before registering them?

How can we justify the registration of vehicles with indecipherable foreign languages in Ghana?

It should be obvious to any discerning Ghanaian that having numerous vehicles on the roads, with assorted advertisements in foreign languages, is an affront to our national self-image, self-respect, self-esteem and self-worth.

Our conduct serves to wean our minds off our country; make us psychologically dependent on foreign values and susceptible to foreign manipulation, and that weakens the bonding and loyalty between us and our nation. We appear to love foreigners and their values more than ourselves!

The fact that Ghana has friendly relations with most countries is no justification for abasing ourselves by doing and defending such wrong conduct.

The aberration being complained of has gained such normalcy within the Ghanaian society that we find nothing wrong with its abnormality; hence the official indifference to national self-respect and self-esteem.

May I state that the DVLA has been faithful in carrying out its statutory duties. There is nothing wrong with Act 569.

However, in relation to the spirit of Article 41 (a), there arises an inconsistency, and that creates a cause of action for the ministry to intervene and establish equilibrium between the letter of Act 569 and the spirit of Article 41 (a).

We must note that there is no legislative instrument that states what ‘prestige’, ‘good name’ and ‘national symbols’ are, so it is by our conduct that we give meaning to those terms.

The Ministry of Transport could, by administrative directive, disallow the registration of vehicles in Ghana with foreign inscriptions on them, as aforesaid and illustrated in the pictures herein.

Second, they must direct that all foreign inscriptions on vehicles be erased, and immediately too.

The ministry must work expeditiously at this and show respect for the nation and compliance with the Constitution. Ignorance will not avail them any longer. 

The writer is a lawyer.

E-mail: akwesihu@yahoo.com