The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, , 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.
