The trend of imprinting chieftaincy crests instead of license plates on the cars of alleged traditional rulers may have been disregarded in the past, but the authorities are preparing to put an end to it.
The interior minister, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, expressed worry over the increasing practice of chiefs using their chieftaincy crests on cars rather than official license plates, calling it a major security danger.
According to the Constitution, Mr. Muntaka emphasized, only the President was allowed to operate a car that was not legally registered.
As a result, the minister gave the concerned chiefs until the end of March this year to register their cars or face having them seized.
The statement was delivered by Mr. Muntaka last Wednesday at the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs’ general meeting in Dodowa.
All motor vehicles must be registered and show official number plates issued by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), according to Regulation 10 of the Road Traffic Regulation, 2012 (L.I. 2180).
The use of chieftaincy crests in replacement of legally permitted registration number plates is not permitted under the legislation for chiefs or other traditional authority.
Therefore, it is illegal and very dangerous to use such crests in place of legitimate license plates.
“Even the Vice-President, the Speaker of Parliament and the Chief Justice ensure their vehicles bear valid registration numbers.
Unfortunately, we are seeing a worrying trend where some chiefs purchase vehicles, fail to register them and simply place the crest of their paramountcy on them.
This is a serious security risk because if such a vehicle is stolen and used for a crime, it would be nearly impossible to trace,” Mr Muntaka explained.
He therefore pleaded with traditional leaders to abide with the law, threatening that after the deadline had passed, authorities would firmly and unequivocally enforce the rules.
“I would want to urge everyone to register all unregistered vehicles immediately since we are in the first quarter.
When enforcement begins, I do not want to be in a position where I have to instruct law enforcement to impound a chief’s vehicle.
That would be unfortunate, but if the law has to be enforced, it will be enforced,” the Interior minister stated.
Mr. Muntaka further stressed that full enforcement would start after the grace period ended and revealed intentions to visit all 16 regions to discuss the issue with traditional leaders.
Insisting that they could pay a specific charge to obtain personalised plates while still adhering to the law, he urged chiefs to utilise the current legislative procedures that permitted bespoke registration numbers.
In order to prevent needless conflicts with law enforcement, Mr. Muntaka advised the Regional Houses of Chiefs to take the issue seriously and make sure that their members cooperated before the deadline.
Source: myjoyonline.com