Amid growing concerns over the influx of excavators into Ghana, President John Mahama has announced a new permit system that will regulate the importation of the heavy-duty machines.
Speaking at the Global Mining Summit on Monday, June 2, the president underscored the urgent need to track and control excavator use, warning that Ghana now possesses more of these machines than the rest of Africa combined.
“We will track excavators to know whether they are being used for illegal mining. Ghana currently has more excavators than the rest of Africa combined,” President Mahama stated. “The new permitting regime will not allow you to import any excavator unless you have a valid permit to do so.”
President John Mahama has announced a government policy that only permits the importation of the excavators under a strict regime aimed at fighting galamsey#3NewsGH
— #TV3GH (@tv3_ghana) June 2, 2025
The new policy is part of a broader national effort to tackle illegal mining and its environmental destruction. In recent months, the government has intensified its focus on heavy machinery, particularly excavators, which have become key tools for illegal miners.
Earlier this year, Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah announced a tracking system to monitor both the import and use of excavators. The system incorporates port tagging and digital surveillance, developed in partnership with multiple state agencies.
The minister revealed that excavators have become Ghana’s third most valuable import, costing the country GHC6.2 billion.
In a series of targeted enforcement operations, a joint task force made up of the military and Forestry Commission officers seized 100 excavators, three bulldozers, and four vehicles in illegal mining zones across the Ashanti, Western, and Western North Regions.
In addition to the import permit policy, excavator owners now face a nationwide registration requirement. The Chief Executive Officer of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Julius Neequaye Kotey, has directed that all excavators be registered by June 1 or risk being confiscated.
“This exercise will help identify every excavator that enters the country and trace how it is being used. The goal is to ensure we can monitor and hold people accountable,” Mr. Kotey said during a press briefing in Accra.
He added that after the deadline, the DVLA, in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service, will begin enforcing the directive by arresting operators and impounding unregistered excavators found at mining or commercial sites.
The directive is backed by Section 38 of the Road Traffic Act, 2004 (Act 683), which mandates the registration of all motor vehicles and trailers, including farm and heavy-duty equipment. Yet, the DVLA has discovered widespread non-compliance, particularly in mining areas where many excavators operate illegally.
“Excavators in the hands of illegal miners have worsened the destruction of our environment. This is why we must act,” Mr. Kotey stressed.
To strengthen oversight, the DVLA is working with the Minerals Commission, National Security, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), and the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to tag all newly imported excavators.
The Minerals Commission has also begun tagging excavators already in use within the country. Legal small-scale mining areas have been geo-fenced and linked to the Ghana Mine Repository and Tracking software, allowing authorities to better track activities on the ground.
