Ghana to end routine Police roadside checks from September under new digital traffic enforcement system
Motorists across Ghana will no longer face routine roadside checks by personnel of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) from September 2026, as the government introduces a digital system to detect and enforce more than 47 road traffic offences.
The Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, announced the development at a press briefing in Accra on Monday, August 24, 2026, as part of the Government Accountability Series.
He said the new system would use cameras and other digital devices to capture traffic violations, with police officers reviewing the evidence at a central control room before electronic notices are issued to offenders.
According to the Minister, the MTTD will deploy facial recognition cameras, mobile cameras, in-vehicle cameras, handheld devices and radar systems to monitor and identify road traffic offences.
He said the system would become fully operational in September, after which police officers would stop conducting manual roadside checks for offences covered by the digital enforcement platform.
Under the new arrangement, footage of a suspected offence will first be reviewed at a back-office control room. Once the violation is confirmed, the motorist will receive an electronic notification indicating the offence committed, the applicable penalty and the procedure for making payment.
Driving licence checks to end
Mr Muntaka said police officers would no longer stop motorists simply to physically inspect their driving licences.
“They won't come and ask you to bring your driving licence,” he said.
He explained that motorists would also no longer be pulled over for manual checks relating to seatbelt use or insurance, as such violations would be detected through the digital system.
Motorists who stop at toll booths could also receive electronic notifications if a traffic offence has previously been recorded against their vehicles.
The Minister said the system was designed not only to improve traffic enforcement but also to reduce direct interactions between motorists and police officers, thereby limiting opportunities for corruption.
His comments followed recent Ghana Statistical Service findings which identified the MTTD, general duty officers and the Criminal Investigation Department among units perceived by the public to have higher levels of corruption within the Ghana Police Service.
Mr Muntaka said reducing face-to-face encounters would make it more difficult for motorists or police officers to negotiate their way out of prosecution.
He cited instances where motorists allegedly paid small amounts, such as “five cedis or ten cedis”, to avoid prosecution for traffic offences.
Digitalisation to improve revenue collection
The Minister said the digital traffic enforcement initiative formed part of a broader digitalisation programme being implemented by the Ministry of the Interior.
He disclosed that the digitalisation of some government services had significantly improved revenue collection, with funds that previously took an entire year to collect now being generated within a single quarter.
He clarified that the increased revenue did not necessarily mean funds had previously been stolen, but rather that digital systems had helped to close administrative loopholes.
“I am not saying that people are stealing the money,” he said.
Responding to concerns about how the new system would prevent MTTD officers from demanding money from motorists at checkpoints, Mr Muntaka reiterated that manual checks of documents would be discontinued from September.
He also encouraged the public to suggest ways of identifying and closing any remaining loopholes in the digital enforcement system.
Wider digital reforms
The traffic enforcement initiative is part of a broader digital transformation programme being rolled out by the Interior Ministry.
Mr Muntaka said an automated fire safety compliance system was expected to begin implementation by the end of August 2026.
He also announced plans for a National Crime Automated Biometric Identification System, which is expected to be deployed across 751 centres nationwide by the end of the year.
The government says the digital reforms are intended to modernise law enforcement, improve efficiency, reduce opportunities for corruption and strengthen accountability across the security sector.