FRAUD AT LICENSE OFFICE

BY: MILLICENT YARO
Officials at the main License Office located at 37, a suburb of Accra, have been extorting money from unqualified personnel in exchange for driver's licenses without the required tests TODAY can authoritatively report.

The paper gathered that there are some rogues who hang around the gallery of the license office, asking drivers who come to the license office to either renew their old license or road works stickers mission.

In the process, these rogues make the drivers pay them in exchange for a license without testing the car or the driver.

Fofo, a Trotro driver and a resident of Amasaman in Accra, has been in the driving business for more than thirteen years and has personally experience such practice many times in the license office.

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Fofo indicated that he had his old license in 1996, so he went to the license office last week to renew it. Since his car had a problem, he was afraid to go through the official procedure.

He was met by three boys consecutively asking him what he was doing there. According to him, he succeeded getting his license without any test.

Fofo added that was he once went for a renewal of his road works and, though never asked about his car, succeeded in getting his renewal for a fee of GH 25.00.

He noted that many of his Trotro driver friends come into the business as mates, but within a few months they are found holding a driver's license.

“Most of the Sunday drivers are spare drivers who have no license, so that the rampant accidents that are caused by careless driving can be minimized,” Fofo told the paper.

Mr Ben-Anti Boahene, the Chairman of Achimota main branch of GPRTU, has also added that they have to take a second look at the operations of the license office because the corruption seems to override the main purpose of the office.

He continued to explain that he has received many allegations that some of the officials in the license office are also victims to this fraud.