The fight against illegal mining has sparked widespread debates on possible measures to deter perpetrators from engaging in the devastating canker.

Actions taken by successive governments in the fight against illegal mining, also termed as ‘galamsey,’ have strongly featured arrests, prosecutions and incarceration of culprits, loss of licenses, destruction of mining sites, burning of excavators, to mention a few.

However, key stakeholders in the sector are divided over the directive on the burning of excavators and other machines used in mining, which is done as a punitive measure to curb further perpetuation of the menace.

Recently, President John Dramani Mahama directed the joint military taskforce to refrain from the burning and damaging equipment seized from illegal mining activities.

He rather urged them to confiscate the equipment from illegal miners they apprehend in forest reserves.

The erstwhile Akufo-Addo government had also directed a taskforce to burn and destroy machines of illegal miners on site; a move that attracted a barrage of criticisms from a section of the public.

Meanwhile, diverse views from industry watchers have come up in discussions seeking to address whether seized equipment should by burnt or not.

Activists for the burning of excavators

Some environmental activists have called for the burning of excavators and other equipment used for illegal mining, terming the move as being punitive enough to deter other illegal miners.

According to a report by graphiconline.com, on March 21, 2025, activists who backed the burning of excavators said the outright directive to confiscate excavators used by illegal miners without creating room for burning the equipment was not deterrent enough.

Those who raised the concerns are Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, the Convener of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey; Daryl Bosu, Deputy National Director of A Rocha Ghana, an environmental Civil Society Organisation (CSO); and Dr Hugh Brown, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Forestry Commission.

Activists against the burning of excavators

Conversely, Nana Yaa Jantuah, a president staffer, during an interview on TV3 on April 2, 2025, urged the government to approach the fight against illegal mining cautiously.

She argued that the exercise will immensely impact the livelihood of youth in mining areas, hence, it should be handled via realistic strategies.

She argued against the burning of seized excavators, stressing that the machines could be put to better use, instead of outright damage.

Padmore Agyapong Baffour, an NPP communicator, shared similar sentiments on the burning of excavators.

On his part, the intent behind burning of excavators stems from the fear that past events will reoccur.

But he noted that should the government win the fight against galamsey, it will have to reclaim the land: “…and that is when these excavators will be needed the most. We will need them to level the land for other purposes,” he said on May 12, 2021 on Happy FM.

Kwame Asare Obeng, better known as Kwame A Plus, is the latest to have joined the conversation in a brief interaction with Adom TV on April 3, 2025.

He argued that naming and shaming public figures involved in galamsey was not enough to deter offenders, but confiscation of machines will help trace the chassis numbers to find and punish people instead of burning the equipment.

Denouement

Overall, calls have been made for broader consultations to strike a balance in the decisions to destroy machines used by illegal miners or not.

In the end, sanctions are expected to discourage people from engaging in the environmentally-degrading canker.

VPO/AE

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