President John Mahama has dismissed claims that excavators are secretly released at night from the Tema Port.

He clarified that the movement of the earthmoving machines forms part of a decongestion measure.

Speaking during his media engagement on Wednesday, September 10, President Mahama explained that the government is strictly enforcing existing laws that require dealers to secure permits before shipping excavators into the country.

“In the meantime, a lot of excavators have arrived at the port, and recently, somebody said they were being released at midnight to their owners. That’s not true,” President Mahama said.

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He noted that the influx of excavators had overwhelmed the Tema port storage space, prompting authorities to move the machines to a secured site near a military installation and free up space in the ports.

“And they do that in the night because of traffic in the daytime. So in the night, they have the pay-loaders moving the excavators out of the port to the designated areas where they are supposed to be held,” he explained.

President Mahama stressed that no excavator leaves the holding site without meeting strict conditions, including registration, installation of trackers, and verification of ownership and purpose.

He added that while the government remains committed to fighting illegal mining, it cannot impose a blanket ban on excavator imports, since licensed large-scale mining companies and the construction sector legitimately require the equipment.

"We want to know who is importing the excavators, who it is going to, we want to be able to put a tracker on it and be able to trace that excavator wherever it is in the country."