The government has impounded more than 4,000 excavators at the ports as part of a stringent initiative to curb the importation and misuse of heavy machinery linked to illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey.
The move, announced by Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, reflects a new, stricter import regime designed to ensure that no heavy equipment enters the country without full accountability.
Importers are now required to declare the end user, intended location, and purpose of each excavator before clearance is granted, a requirement that has left thousands of machines stranded at the docks.
To back the initiative, the Minerals Commission has stationed verification officers at the ports to scrutinise every application.
Approved equipment will not only be tracked but also geofenced, allowing authorities to draw virtual boundaries around approved operational zones. Any deviation from those zones would trigger immediate alerts.
“We want to make sure that every single excavator in this country can be accounted for,” Mr Buah said. “If we can track the equipment, we can stop it from ending up at illegal mining sites.”
The port blockade is part of a multi-pronged offensive that also includes military-led sweeps through forest reserves and mining communities.
By targeting the machinery that fuels galamsey, the government hopes to cripple the logistics of illegal mining while buying time for longer-term reforms in the sector.
