The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has received information and communication technology (ICT) equipment worth US$1.5 million from the Public Sector Reform Secretariat (PSRS) to facilitate its digitalisation drive.
The equipment included 215 desktops, 60 laptops, 106 printers, 75 cameras, 75 tripod stands, and other computer accessories.
A brief ceremony was held in Accra on Thursday (April 6) where the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Public Sector Reform Secretariat, Thomas Kusi Boafo and the Technical Advisor at the Office of the Senior Presidential Advisor, Robert Poku Kyei, jointly handed over the equipment to the CEO of DVLA, Kwasi Agyeman Busia.
The items were presented to the DVLA as part of the Public Sector Reform for Results Project (PSRRP), which was started in 2019 to help resource selected critical public sector institutions to improve their performance.
The other 12 beneficiary institutions under the $35-million World Bank funded project are the Passport Office, Births and Deaths Registry, Office of the Head of Civil Service, Public Services Commission, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Monitoring and Evaluation Secretariat, Public Sector Reform secretariat and the National Information Technology Agency (NITA).
The remaining beneficiaries are the ministries of Transport, Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFARI) Environment, Science Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Local Government, Decentralisation and Development (MLGDD).
Beneficial project
Mr Kusi Boafo explained that the PRSRRP was part of the six-year National Public Sector Reform Strategy (NPSRS) which was launched by the government in 2018 and meant to improve efficiency and accountability in the delivery of services in the selected state entities.
He said most of the innovations that had been rolled out by the DVLA to revolutionarise service delivery was the results of the PRSRRP.
“It is worth noting that since the implementation of the PSRRP, the DVLA has benefited immensely from major initiatives such as the procurement of six mini vans, ICT equipment including license printing machines and consumables, capacity building for staff of the authority, and these were all geared towards improving citizens experience in assessing public sector services,” he said.
The PSRS CEO added that the equipment that had been presented to the DVLA currently was targeted at helping the authority to modernise its operations at the various offices across the country.
He said the equipment was also meant to support the tertiary drive and the express mobile service initiatives by the DVLA.
Transformation agenda
Mr Busia described the receipt of the ICT equipment as a major boost to the DVLA’s transformation agenda.
“In 2016, the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) ranked the DVLA as the most corrupt institution in Ghana; and this was a very negative tag on such a key state institutions. However, through innovations and introduction of transformative agenda that focuses on people, process and technology, the same GII awarded the DVLA as the best in administrative reforms in 2020. This means that we are doing something great and changing that negative narrative,” he said.
Mr Busia reiterated that his preoccupation was to transform the authority into robust institution capable of delivering efficient services to the public.
