Tema Port: 1,200 excavators impounded; 191 currently being tracked – Armah Buah

Ghana has intensified its fight against illegal mining—popularly known as galamsey—by deploying a real-time digital tracking system to monitor the import and use of excavators across the country.

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, disclosed that 191 excavators are currently being tracked under a pilot phase of the Ghana Mine Repository and Tracking Software, a centralized platform developed by the Minerals Commission.

Speaking during the Government Accountability Series on Wednesday, July 23, the Minister further revealed that 1,200 excavators have already been impounded at the Tema Port.

“A pilot project of over 191 excavators is currently being tracked in the dedicated control room of the Minerals Commission.”

These machines are currently being validated before clearance, as part of a strict regulatory process grounded in Legislative Instrument 2404—which mandates the registration and tracking of all earth-moving and mining equipment used in the country.

“We are doing this grounded on LI2404, which prescribes the mandatory registration of all earth-moving and mining equipment that is to be used in mining operations. LI2404 ensures that machinery and equipment are tracked in real-time and used only in mining areas for which they have been registered.”

The system, which is now in its advanced stages, provides real-time updates on the movement and compliance status of mining equipment.

According to the Minister, the platform integrates key regulatory and enforcement agencies, including the Ghana Revenue Authority’s Customs Division, DVLA, the Ministry of Transport, National Security, and the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAMOS), to ensure a coordinated national response to galamsey.

“This is very innovative and very new,” Mr. Buah stated. “we are now able to track the excavators before they even set off to come to Ghana. And when they get there, the Minerals Commission, DVLA, everybody is there. And we believe that we are going to get to that point where every movement of excavator in this country is actually regulated.”

The impoundments are the result of a joint effort by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance through the GRA-Customs Division, and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority.

Mr. Buah emphasized that this new strategy is aimed at cutting off galamsey operations at the source—preventing equipment from reaching illegal mining sites in the first place.