Transport Minister, Joseph Bukari Nipke, has ordered a nationwide crackdown on dilapidated vehicles, directing the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and national police to ramp up enforcement against unfit cars on the road.
Speaking in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show Thursday morning, Mr. Nipke said that no vehicle should be issued a roadworthiness certificate unless it has passed a comprehensive inspection and meets the country’s safety standards.
“As a government, we need to take a firm position on removing rickety cars from our roads,” he said. “I have instructed the DVLA that any vehicle not properly inspected must not be certified as roadworthy. The police, too, must be empowered to take such vehicles off the streets.”
The directive comes amid growing concerns over road safety and the perceived laxity in the enforcement of vehicle standards, particularly through unofficial channels. The minister singled out the operations of middlemen—locally referred to as “goro boys”—who are known to facilitate the acquisition of roadworthiness certificates for vehicles that have not undergone the required checks.
In response, the government is expanding DVLA facilities across the country to improve access to legitimate services and minimize the role of intermediaries.
“DVLA should not issue a roadworthy certificate without physically inspecting the vehicle,” Mr. Nipke emphasized. “And if a vehicle fails inspection, it should not be certified under any circumstance.”
As part of a broader strategy to reduce reliance on substandard private transport, Mr. Nipke also disclosed that the government is planning to inject more buses into state-run transportation systems such as Metro Mass Transit and the State Transport Company (STC). The goal, he said, is to offer safer alternatives to the traveling public.
“If we can strengthen public transport, people won’t feel compelled to risk their lives in unsafe vehicles,” he said.
The ministry’s move is being closely watched by road safety advocates and commercial transport operators alike, many of whom have long called for tighter regulations in the sector.
