Clear all rickety cars on the street — Transport Minister directs DVLA, Police

The Minister for Transport, Joseph Bukari Nipke, has instructed the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Police to enhance their efforts in removing dilapidated vehicles from Ghana’s roads.

Speaking in an interview, the minister emphasised that no vehicle should receive a roadworthy certificate unless it undergoes a comprehensive inspection to ensure it meets safety standards.

“As a government, we will need to sit down on getting rickety cars off the roads. I have had conversations with the DVLA that any vehicle that is not inspected properly should not be given a roadworthy certificate. But it goes beyond them. The police should come in and be able to take out that vehicle as well,” he stated.

Mr. Nipke also warned against the involvement of middlemen, commonly referred to as “goro boys,” who facilitate the issuance of roadworthy certificates for vehicles without proper inspections.

He mentioned that the government is working to expand DVLA offices nationwide to improve accessibility and combat these practices.

“DVLA should not give a roadworthy certificate to any vehicle when they have not seen it. If they have seen it and it is not roadworthy, it should not be certified,” he added in an interview monitored by The Ghana Report on Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, October 2, 2025.

Regarding the government’s initiatives, the transport minister revealed plans to introduce more vehicles into state-run transport services to lessen reliance on unsafe cars.

“We should take it upon ourselves as a government to bring in more vehicles to support Metro Mass Transport, STC and others to be able to service more people. If they have the alternatives, they will not be moved to enter those rickety cars,” Mr. Nipke added.