A Ghanaian Information Technology (IT) expert has hailed the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for being bold enough to launch the automated services to ease transactions at the Authority and eliminate the corrupt practices of 'goro' boys.

The expert, who wants to remain unnamed for now, told Public Agenda that the launch of the online services is a novelty that other African countries would emulate to increase revenue in order to nip corruption in the bud.

He particularly praised the DVLA for a well-organised launch programme of all its online services. He said it was good that the services would be operated concurrently with the manual system for six months and would run for one month before they become available country-wide for customers to access.

But he was worried about how the electronic system would be operated effectively and efficiently. “How they implement the system is the issue. The key to success is how the DVLA can come out with measures to implement the available services to achieve the purposes for which the system has been set up,” he said.

He stated that the real success of the system lay with how the DVLA eliminates the 'goro' boys and their insider collaborators as they would do a lot to frustrate the system since it is not in their interest. “Can they eliminate the 'goro' boys completely?” he asked.

Another problem the IT specialist raised was inadequate public education about the online system. He called on the DVLA to mount an extensive public education programme in order to create awareness. “The public must be informed enough about the many benefits of the system so that they can patronise it. What is DVLA's public education programme? It should start running now. They should inform people that there is a better alternative to the old system. If they don't do these things, then the objectives of the system will not be released.”

At the launch of the online service delivery project last Tuesday, Mr Rudolf Beckley, the acting Chief Executive Officer of the DVLA, said: “The service automation platform we are providing today will transform the DVLA into a highly effective and efficient organisation through business innovation, best practices and re-engineering.

“The principal objective of this project is the complete re-engineering of our procedures and processes leading to a new workflow that prevents fraud, prevents revenue leakages where the project ensures that only services paid for are provided … the system will ensure efficient and speedy delivery of services which will lead to a reduction of turnaround time.”

Mr Beckley said the DVLA was working hard to ensure that the organisation is repositioned to become a fully autonomous and a modern organisation with qualified and motivated staff that would deliver its mandate and contribute to casualty reduction on the roads. The new platform would be rolled out in the DVLA offices located in Accra, Tema, Weija and Kumasi. “The rest of our offices will be connected by the end of March, 2014,” he said.