The Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, has explained that the government has tightened controls on the importation of excavators as part of renewed efforts to curb illegal mining, otherwise known as galamsey.
Speaking in Parliament on Friday, November 21, 2025, he said the restrictions have made it extremely difficult for anyone to bring excavators into the country.
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“It is next to impossible to import excavators into this country. I have been approached by even contractors, road contractors who have legitimate road construction contracts from government, and they are having difficulty even getting permission from government to import specifically excavators for the purposes of their road construction projects because government is very, very keen on limiting the influx of excavators into our country,” he noted.
The Majority Leader explained that the government is intentionally limiting the influx of excavators because the machines have been central to the expansion of illegal mining activities across the country.
He said foreign sponsorship, especially from Chinese financiers, and the involvement of politically connected individuals contributed significantly to the rise in illegal mining.
“Government is very, very keen on limiting the influx of excavators into our country, and indeed for those who don’t really understand the galamsey menace, since colonial times artisanal mining has been happening in this country. But what aggravated and created the vast expanse of excavations across the country for the purposes of small-scale mining has been the introduction of excavators into the country,” he stated.
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“The sponsorship that came from our Chinese brothers and sisters and the involvement of party kingpins in trying very hard to get government to compromise and allow them to cut out these operations,” he remarked.
Mahama Ayariga further stated that Ghana no longer sees the level of widespread excavations that previously characterised illegal mining.
JKB/MA
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