Two West African countries have made a national ID card required for driving. The Republic of Benin has issued what officials describe as a safe and long-lasting biometric driver’s license, which may or may not replace an ID card for holders. In neighboring Ghana, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has announced that biometric capture and the national ID card would be among the criteria for vehicle registration beginning in January 2023.
Benin Gets its First Biometric Driver’s License
The National Agency for Land Transport (ANaTT) and the National Agency for the Identification of Persons collaborated to develop the new biometric driver’s license (ANIP). The new plastic card is intended to replace a three-part paper document, however, applicants must have a valid national ID.
At a recent press conference, the Acting Director General of ANaTT, Alain Hinkati, and the representative of ANIP, Cyrille Gougbédji, said the new credit-card format of the driver’s license does not incur any extra expenditures, despite the ten-year extension of the credential validity.
Beninese seeking a driver’s license must now give their personal identity number, other administrative papers, and a certificate indicating the applicant’s blood type (as is usual in Francophone nations), authorities stated.
This biometric license card is the same as a national identification card. The possessor will not need to get the national biometric identification card again. However, for digital purposes that require more than a driver’s license card, the citizen may need the national biometric identification card, which is an electronic smart card.
According to officials, old driver’s licenses will be valid until their usual expiration date. Also, the entire switchover process will be given a considerable time frame, after which further action will be implemented by the appropriate authorities.
Ghana Uses Biometric for Automobile Registration
The new car registration processes will be performed in two phases, according to a statement from Ghana’s DVLA, with biometric capture of the vehicle owner anticipated in the second step. According to the announcement, this will commence in January 2023, and the Ghana Card will be the main ID document to be included in the application form. According to the news source, anybody with formal authorization to register vehicles on behalf of others must also provide their national ID cards for verification.