The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has said the calls for a temporary ban on the importation of excavators is not feasible in combating illegal mining in the country.

He stated that excavators serve multiple purposes beyond mining, such as digging, earthmoving, demolition tasks, material handling, and forestry work, adding that banning its importation is impractical.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s The Point of View with Bernard Avle on Wednesday, March 26, Armah-Kofi Buah stated that “No, you can’t ban it because there are a lot of other activities that they are used for.

"Self-propelled bulldozers with 360 super structure, which amounted to GH¢6.2 billion resulting in 2.5% were imported in 2024 under the previous administration."

Instead, the minister called for the need for a robust system to monitor and regulate the use of excavators in the country, rather than banning it, which will affect other businesses.

He referenced the Minerals Commission’s pilot tracking program, which employs geo-fencing technology to monitor 70 excavators, allowing authorities to track their locations in real time.

“The thing is that we have to put a system in place. Already, the Minerals Commission has a tracking programme, so far on an experimental basis of 70 excavators that they are able to track using geo-fencing technology. And that is working very well; they know exactly, 24-hours, where that excavator is,” Armah-Kofi Buah stated.

He further proposed expanding this tracking system in collaboration with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Ministry of Transport to ensure comprehensive registration and monitoring of all excavator owners.

Additionally, the minister pledged the government’s commitment to holding accountable those involved in illegal activities.

“How do we expand that, and how do we work with the DVLA, work with the Ministry of Transport to ensure that we know every excavator owner who registered it? Ultimately, what we are saying is that working with the Attorney General and the interior ministry; if any excavator is coiled in any illegality, we are not only arresting the person, but with the system in place, we go for all the big guys who buy it.”

VA/AE

Meanwhile, watch this concluding part of our sit-down with the 100-year-old World War II veteran, who was also present at the 28th February Shooting, below: