Ghana’s import bill ranked third in 2024, with excavators valued at GHS 6.2 billion, according to Minister of Lands and Natural Resources Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah.
The Minister encouraged the Ministry of Transport and the Driver and Vehicles Licensing Authority (DVLA) to work together to restrict the importation of those excavators because he thought that they may have ended up in the nation’s mining locations for illicit mining activities.
The Minister further declared that any floating platforms on bodies of water, commonly referred to as “Changfans,” which are mostly utilized by illicit miners on rivers, would be prohibited.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, Mr. Armah-Kofi Buah stated that in order to prevent illicit mining in the future, small-scale mining licenses should be issued at the district level, with the District Security Command and the district mining committees actively participating to review the required paperwork submitted by the potential applicants.
This comes as an 18-member Working Committee, which the government established last month to examine the present mining licensing system and suggest a comprehensive plan to address the threat of unlawful mining, released an interim report.
According to the Minister, the military unit has so far confiscated some 60 excavators in the last two months.
The Regional Ministers are currently in charge of the excavators.
The Minister stated that such excavators would be deplored for road construction rather than being burned.
He added that seven of the nine forest areas that illegal miners had taken for illicit mining operations had been returned to the government.
In order to forbid mining in forest reserves, the Minister informed the media that efforts to modify L.I. 2462 were well advanced.
He clarified that the legislative change will also remove the President’s authority to authorize mining in the forest reserves.
Source: newsthemegh.com