Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah, has accused the previous Akufo-Addo administration of creating fertile ground for illegal mining by allowing excavators into Ghana without proper registration or authorization.
Speaking at a high-level stakeholder engagement on illegal mining convened by President John Dramani Mahama at the Jubilee House on Friday, Mr. Kofi-Buah alleged that not a single excavator brought into the country under the former government passed through the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).
“One area that was completely missed throughout all this process was the import of excavators. You’d be surprised to know this, that for a whole eight years, no excavator that was imported in Ghana went through registration with the DVLA. So it was free for all,” the Minister stated.
He recounted that President Mahama had quickly directed his ministry to address the problem, leading to the seizure of 1,200 excavators in just one month.
The influx, however, was so overwhelming that authorities ran out of space at the Tema Port and had to rely on military facilities to decongest.
According to Mr. Kofi-Buah, the discovery of unregulated imports underscores how weak controls over heavy equipment contributed to the galamsey menace.
He emphasized that the current administration is determined to close those gaps as part of its broader strategy to restore Ghana’s degraded lands and water bodies.
