The DVLA World Tour and Other Adventures
By Dr. Ato Kwamena Danso · 27 February 2026 · Politics
The Dr. Otokunor forest tour is still the talk of the town. He was spotted deep in the greenery, trying his hardest to convince cocoa farmers that a reduced price is actually a blessing in disguise. It takes a certain kind of "economic wizardry" to look a man with a machete in the eye and explain that the GH¢2,587 he’s getting is far superior to the GH¢3,100 he was promised. I suppose if you use enough big words and fancy percentages, a lighter wallet feels like a smaller burden. But the forest antics are nothing compared to the DVLA headquarters. After failing to change number plates and being laughed at for suggesting the DVLA build its own hospitals, the head of the agency has truly outdone himself. Flanked by deputies who looked so uninterested they appeared to be sleeping with their eyes open, he announced a "world tour." His staff are heading abroad to train consular staff and somehow register the diaspora for Ghanaian licenses, licenses they can only use when they visit Ghana. The comedy turned into a thriller when the Foreign Ministry released a memo, sounding very offended and denying they ever gave approval for such an idea. But as we say, "the internet never forgets." Pictures and posts from 2025 have surfaced showing the head of that very ministry looking quite cozy and very much in the loop with this "ridiculous" idea. It appears Ablakwa had a personal issue with a brother in the mix, adding a dash of family drama to our national comedy. Osagyefo, if we truly wanted to help the diaspora, wouldn't it be simpler to just put a DVLA booth at the airport? They could issue temporary licenses to deserving Ghanaians the moment they land, rather than flying staff halfway across the world. Even those in a deep coma were seen laughing in their sleep. Meanwhile, the NDC is holding onto the dollar rate reduction like a lifebuoy in a storm. But Osagyefo, the "methods" matter. The government has chosen heavy market intermediation, essentially subsidizing importers to keep the rate down. But we have lost 36% of our cocoa revenue and are busy subsidizing rice importers while our own local farmers struggle. To top it off, revenue at our ports has significantly decreased; the state coffers are thinning out while the importers are the only ones cashing in with massive profits. To make matters worse, our electricity bills have skyrocketed to the point where turning on a light bulb feels like a major financial commitment. Instead of addressing the tariff hikes, government communicators are working overtime to gaslight the entire nation. They are actually trying to convince us that, after decades of living with electricity, we have suddenly "forgotten" how to use it. Apparently, the high bills aren't because of the price, it's because we’ve collectively decided to leave our irons on for fun. It is a spectacular level of audacity to blame the consumer’s habits for the provider's greed. Somehow, the government succeeded in scrubbing the name 'Kotoka' from the airport, rebranding it simply as Accra International Airport. One can only hope this marks the beginning of a consistent purge, ensuring that no coup maker’s name ever graces a public monument in Ghana again. It is quite the masterclass in irony, considering that the very architects of these name changes have their own storied history of toppling governments. If we are truly cleaning the slate of 'culpability,' it’s going to be a very quiet, nameless walk through the city Forward ever, Ato_KD