File photo of excavators used in illegal mining
President John Mahama has provided explanations for the government’s decision to subject over 1,200 excavators imported into the country to a rigorous permitting and clearance regime at the Ministry of Transport.
According to President Mahama, this decision forms part of his government’s intentions to strengthen regulations on earthmoving equipment and curb their misuse in illegal small-scale mining, commonly referred to as galamsey.
President Mahama made this known during his maiden Presidential Media Encounter at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, which allowed him to have face-to-face interactions with the media.
Giving further explanation, he said, “In collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance, GRA Customs Division and the Ports and Harbours Authority, we’ve instituted a system for the proactive tracking of all imported excavators and earthmoving equipment from the port of entry.”
“This is to make sure that every single piece of equipment is accounted for from the moment it lands at our ports to where it is finally deployed,” he said.
He denied the public assertion that the government has released hundreds of seized excavators to their original owners so that these owners could quickly move into galamsey activities and cause further destruction to forest reserves.
We are using excavators chassis numbers to contact-trace ‘big people’ behind galamsey – Omane Boamah
He clarified that hundreds of excavators seized at the Tema Port have been relocated to Shai Hills (near a military installation) in the Greater Accra Region, where a vast area has been acquired for the proper safeguarding of the machinery.
He reiterated that the government could not place an outright ban on the importation of excavators into the country because they are not only used by illegal miners but also by genuine contractors, among others.
Earlier, the Minister for Transport, Joseph Nikpe Bukari, who addressed the media, also reiterated that “If you hear excavators are being moved from the port, it is just that we are decongesting the port, but if you visit all the military installations, you will see that we have moved all those excavators to the military camps.”
NAAB/SEA
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