The Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka has cautioned Chiefs to desist from using their Chieftaincy crests as number plates to avoid sanctions by the law.
He said it was a serious security risk if such crested vehicles are stolen and used for criminal activities, it would be nearly impossible to trace culprits.
He stressed that it was only constitutional for the President to drive official vehicles without registration plates from the Driver Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).
This follows concerns over the growing trend where chiefs use their chieftaincy crests on vehicles instead of official registration plates.
Mr Muntaka made the statement during the general meeting of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs in Dodowa.
The minister, therefore told the chiefs to adhere to this standard and gave them up to the end of March this year to register all their vehicles or risk having them seized.
The Interior Minister explained that Regulation 10 of the Road Traffic Regulation, 2012 (L.I. 2180) mandated all motor vehicles to be registered and to display official number plates issued by the DVLA.
“The regulation does not provide any exemptions for chiefs or other traditional authorities to use chieftaincy crests in place of legally approved registration number plates”, he added.
Therefore, using such crests instead of official plates is, therefore, a violation of L.I. 2180 and could pose security risks.
“Even the Vice-President, the Speaker of Parliament and the Chief Justice ensure their vehicles bear valid registration numbers.
Unfortunately, we are seeing a worrying trend where some chiefs purchase vehicles, fail to register them and simply place the crest of their paramountcy on them”, he said.
The Minister urged traditional leaders to comply with the law, warning that once the deadline passed, authorities would strictly enforce the regulations without exceptions.
“We are in the first quarter and I want to make this appeal; let us take steps to register all unregistered vehicles now.”
“When enforcement begins, I do not want to be in a position where I have to instruct law enforcement to impound a chief’s vehicle.
That would be unfortunate, but if the law has to be enforced, it will be enforced,” the Interior minister stated.
Mr Muntaka also announced plans to visit all 16 regions to engage traditional rulers on the matter, emphasizing that once the grace period expired, full enforcement would begin.
He encouraged chiefs to take advantage of existing legal provisions that allowed for customised registration numbers, insisting that they could pay a special fee to acquire personalised plates while still complying with the law.
