The Vehicle Embossment Association of Ghana (VEMAG) has petitioned the Minister for Transport to halt the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority’s (DVLA) planned rollout of a new digital number plate system, citing concerns over job losses and inadequate stakeholder consultation.
The DVLA has announced plans to introduce a new vehicle licensing and digital number plate regime in January 2026.
Mr. Jojo Bruce Quansah, Spokesperson for VEMAG, said the transition, if implemented in its current form, could result in more than 3,000 workers in the vehicle embossment industry losing their jobs.
He said the DVLA had failed to honour a commitment made in 2021 to consult the Association before effecting any changes to the existing vehicle number plate system.
Mr Quansah described the planned rollout as rushed and cautioned that members of the Association, who pre-finance national plate embossment annually, risked being sidelined in favour of foreign companies.
According to him, repeated efforts since April 2025 to meet the Chief Executive Officer of the DVLA, Mr. Julius Nii Quaye Kotei, had been unsuccessful, leaving licensed embossers without clarity on their 2026 plate allocations.
Mr. Quansah raised concerns that the DVLA intended to assign both manufacturing and embossing responsibilities to a select group of entities, a move he said contravened the Legislative Instrument establishing the Authority, which clearly separates the two functions.
He further indicated that information available to the Association suggested that the DVLA planned to collaborate with foreign firms, including Chinese companies, a development he warned could displace thousands of Ghanaian workers.
“We are not opposed to technological advancement, but we are calling for a phased transition and capacity-building for local embossers to align with the digitalisation agenda,” he said.
Mr. Quansah also urged the Transport Minister to investigate allegations by Mr. Kotei that three individuals were operating 154 illegal embossing companies in addition to the 50 officially approved firms.
He said VEMAG remained committed to national development and appealed to the DVLA and the Ministry of Transport to engage all relevant stakeholders to ensure a smooth, transparent and lawful transition to the proposed digital number plate system.
