Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ken Ashigbey, has called for the urgent publication of the names of individuals and companies importing excavators into Ghana without legitimate business purposes.

He warned that many of these machines are fuelling the ongoing menace of illegal mining, commonly known as galamsey.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story following a JoyNews Research analysis of trade data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), Mr Ashigbey expressed deep concern over Ghana’s ranking as the top importer of excavators in West Africa outspending Nigeria by more than double.

According to the 2023 data, Ghana imported excavators worth $205 million, while Nigeria, with a significantly larger landmass and economy, imported just $94 million. On the continental scale, Ghana ranked second only to South Africa, which imported $436 million worth of excavators during the same period.

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Mr Ashigbey said the figures raised serious questions, particularly given the scale of land degradation caused by small-scale illegal mining operations.

“We should be able to publish the names of all the people who are importing these excavators into this country,” he insisted on Wednesday, September 10.

“There are some of them the only reason they are importing these excavators, especially the small ones, is because of galamsey.”

He noted that institutions such as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the Minerals Commission are stationed at the ports and are supposed to monitor and track the movement of earth-moving equipment.

“If you are using an excavator for any particular concession, the Minerals Commission will drawmark it to that specific site. You cannot move beyond it. So, if someone brings in an excavator and cannot tell you what road they are constructing, what concession they are working on, or who they are supplying it to then that machine is likely being used for illegal mining,” he stated.

Mr Ashigbey stressed that illegal miners use high-powered equipment to destroy lands quickly and recoup their investment before law enforcement can catch up.

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“These excavators cost around $200,000. The illegal miner gets into a site and destroys it so fast that even if the machine is confiscated later, they’ve already made their money back.”

He argued that publicising the identities of importers who cannot justify their activities would act as a deterrent and help strengthen accountability across the mining and construction sectors.

“What I recommend is simple: we must urgently publish the names of those people who brought in the excavators and have no business using them they are not contractors, they are not concession holders, and they cannot tell you who they are working for,” Mr. Ashigbey noted.