Speculations emerged earlier this week following the discovery by JoyNews that hundreds of excavators had been spotted being moved from Tema Port during the night.

These reports sparked concerns about the possible sneaking of these excavators to galamsey sites for illegal mining operations. Others also questioned the legality of moving, citing that it would have been done during the day.

However, President Mahama has rebuffed these claims, citing that the transport of these excavators forms part of efforts to decongest the Tema Port, which is currently overwhelmed with an influx of excavators due to the increase in its import 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. “We have not released hundreds of seized excavators to their original owners so that these owners could quickly move into galamsey activities and cause further destruction to forest reserves,” he clarified.

The movement is carried out at night due to traffic conditions during the day, President Mahama added.

“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.

On where the excavators are being transported to, President Mahama revealed that,

“Hundreds of excavators seized at the Tema Port have been relocated to Shai Hills, near a military installation, where a vast area has been acquired for the proper safeguarding of the machinery.”

Government is also working with the relevant Ministries to implement their ‘no permit no excavator policy’, which was first announced by the President during a keynote address at the Global Mining Summit, an initiative led by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, on June 1.

At the event, “We will track excavators to know whether they are being used for illegal mining or not, and we will intend to change the permitting regime. You’ll not be allowed to import an excavator or put it on a ship unless you get a permit before you can ship an excavator.

Consequently, “In collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance, GRA Customs Division and the Ports and Harbours Authority, we've instituted a system for the proactive tracking of all imported excavators and earthmoving equipment from the port of entry.”

“This is to make sure that every single piece of equipment is accounted for from the moment it lands at our ports to where it is finally deployed, ” he reiterated at the Media Encounter on Wednesday, September 10, at the Presidency.

President Mahama also addressed the growing public and political pressure to ban the importation of excavators due to their widespread use in galamsey operations, stating that,

“We cannot place an outright ban on the importation of excavators into the country because they are not only used by illegal miners but also by genuine contractors, among others.”

Also, due to the devastating and deadly effects of galamsey, several stakeholders, including Convener, Media Coalition Against Galamsey, Ken Ashigbey, some civil society groups and environmental advocates have made calls for a state of emergency to be declared by the Mahama-led administration, but President Mahama has rejected them.

According to him, “I’ve been reluctant to implement a state of emergency in the galamsey fight because we’ve not exhausted the powers we even have without a state of emergency. We have the opportunity to arrest anybody, to confiscate any such thing. The laws for forest protection and all that give us enough powers to be able to act.”

Galamsey is one major challenge and a cancer eating into the country’s ecosystem. The fight against it is a long-standing one with little to no positive and generally significant and impressive effect; however, past and present administrations remain relentless in the fight against the environmental demon.

Ghana in August lost right gallant men who were en route to an event on anti-galamsey in a gory and heart-wrenching plane crash on August 6, in Adansi.

They were burned beyond recognition while on their way to an event to dissuade Ghanaians from engaging in illegal mining activities. Their remains had to be collected in cocoa sacks for forensic examination.

Consequently, their death heightened calls from officials, concerned citizens and other stakeholders on President Mahama to be fierce and stern in his fight against the menace.

Council of State representative, Nene Drolor Bosso Adamtey I, during an engagement with The Independent Ghana, entreated the relevant authorities and the general public to ramp up their efforts in ridding the country of illegal mining activities.

Nene Drolor Bosso Adamtey I indicated that the lives lost must empower all to stand firm in protecting the environment.

"Galamsey is a canker we should fight. We must stamp it out of our system. It destroys our country, water bodies and our environment and our agricultural development," he added.

Nene Drolor Bosso Adamtey I added: "Their death must ensure we fight galamsey and win. We must not let it overcome us. Ghana must overcome galamsey."

Meanwhile, the government in July set up the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) in efforts to curb illegal mining activities (galamsey) in the country.

Speaking during an update on Wednesday, July 23, the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, disclosed that the newly established Secretariat will act as the brain of Ghana’s anti-illegal mining operations.

“To coordinate the efforts of the military, police, and other security agencies, the ministry has established the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) as the operational nerve-centre for Ghana’s fight against illegal small-scale mining,” he stated.

The Secretariat is expected to collaborate with other key institutions, such as the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance (GRA-Customs Division), and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, as part of their mandate.

Their collaboration will ensure that excavators and other earth-moving equipment that enter the country are not diverted to illegal mining activities.

“In collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance (GRA-Customs Division), and the Ports and Harbours Authority, we have initiated a proactive tracking of all imports of excavators and earth-moving equipment from the point of entry,” he added.

In addition to the measures currently being put in place in the fight against galamsey, President Mahama, during the maiden Media Encounter, revealed that his outfit is “...organising a trip to Australia to see how small-scale mining is done without destroying the environment.”