The three-way legal battle over Ghana’s vehicle number plates has taken a conciliatory turn, with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), the Vehicle Embossment Manufacturers Association of Ghana (VEMAG), and the company awarded the disputed contract all agreeing to pursue an out-of-court settlement, a development that could clear the path for the DVLA’s long-delayed digital plate rollout.
When the case came before the Accra High Court on February 13, 2026, lawyers for Original Manufacturing and Embossment Company Limited, led by Prof. Kwame Gyan, informed the court that the second defendant had initiated settlement talks with the plaintiffs. VEMAG’s lead counsel, Martin Kpebu, confirmed the discussions and urged the court to adjourn proceedings to allow the negotiations to progress. Lawyers for the DVLA indicated they were not opposed and expressed readiness to support an amicable resolution. Presiding judge Justice Isaac Addo subsequently granted the adjournment and directed the parties to file their terms of settlement before the next court date of February 27, 2026.
The agreement to talk follows months of acrimony. VEMAG filed its original injunction at the High Court on December 22, 2025, challenging the DVLA’s decision to award both manufacturing and embossment contracts to a single entity, Dr. Nyarko Esumadu Appiah of Original Manufacturing and Embossment, also known as Daasebre a move the association described as unprecedented and a violation of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663). The association argued that the arrangement threatened the livelihoods of more than 3,000 workers employed across its 46-member companies.
Members of VEMAG said they had been required over the years to acquire specialised embossment equipment costing between GH¢70,000 and GH¢1 million per unit to meet DVLA specifications, and that the authority still owed them arrears for plates pre-financed and supplied in prior years.
The DVLA has separately confirmed that all vehicles in Ghana are scheduled to receive new number plates from April 1, 2026, a deadline that gives the parties a narrow window to conclude any settlement and allow the rollout to proceed without further legal interruption. The digital plates, embedded with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, are intended to improve vehicle tracking, security, and enforcement capabilities nationwide.
Whether a formal settlement has been filed with the court as directed was not confirmed as of the time of publication.
