The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) is under scrutiny as some Ghanaians on X, formerly Twitter, have accused the agency of copying the design of a Ghanaian creative for the newly announced vehicle number plates.
DVLA has announced announced a new design for number plates which will be introduced starting January 1, 2026. The Chief Executive Officer of the organization, Julius Neequaye Kotey, revealed the design of these plates on Metro Tv on Monday, August 25.
DVLA DESIGN
The DVLA has since faced backlash and outrage from Ghanaians on social media, suggesting that they may have copied this design from X user Jason Fakor Fiam-Coblavie who shared his own design on the platform in June, 2023.
Jason’s Design
According to Jason Fakor Fiam-Coblavie, he has not been contacted by DVLA or any related agency about his design prior to their announcement.
Some users on X are siding with Jason, expressing disappointment towards the DVLA about the possible theft of his intellectual property, as they all saw when he posted his design two years ago.
One user, @pacify_kay, wrote, “Do you know how painful it is to come up with a creative idea and not get paid for it or better still not acknowledged for it?… I’ve been through this before and understand how it feels Charlie. DVLA better do the needful.”
Another X user, @Mzdelah, posted, “What can we do to make DVLA do the right thing? They want to make it look like they didn’t see the guy’s work. It’s not fair at all. This thing has been circulating since before the conversation about number plates started. If you’re the designer they hired too esewoara.”
Others however argue that the similarities in designs could be just by coincidence, saying that other parts of the world even used similar designs for the vehicle number plates.
Speaking to News Desk, Jason Fakor Fiam-Coblavie explained that he drew some inspiration from United States number plates, however he made it unique by adding some Ghanaian features.
“My design was inspired by U.S. license plates, but I added a unique Ghanaian element like the regional maps to make it ours. If parts of my concept were used, I’d appreciate open dialogue and fair credit for my work,” he said.
He added that despite efforts to reach the organisation, he has received no positive response, saying, “I’ve been trying to reach out to them but they never responded. Even last week i tried sending a message to the CEO himself on Instagram (because i couldn’t get his email) but i got no response
The DVLA has not yet responded to these claims.
