The Lands Ministry’s seven-day deadline for the registration of excavators, according to the Ghana National Association of Small-Scale Miners (GNASSM), is unrealistic and impossible to meet.

The Ministry, in a press statement on October 24, 2022, issued a directive instructing excavator owners, users, and operators to register with Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

According to the release, the registration exercise is expected to end nationwide on Wednesday, November 2, 2022.

GNASSM although accepting the move has however expressed that the deadline is too short.

Godwin Armah, the General Secretary of GNASSM made this known at a media engagement on the same day the directive was announced.

In his opinion, “the seven days will be difficult, but we can start. I don’t know whether it is with the tracking because most of the machines, as the law says, have been registered”.

He, however, urged members who own excavators to do well to register them.

According to the directive, MMDAs will be responsible for recording the names and details of excavator owners and their respective machines.

The date on which the excavator was brought into the country, the registration number and chassis number, the purpose for which the excavator was brought into the country, the area in which it will be used, as well as the name and details of the excavator’s current operator, are some of the details needed during the registration process.

This new directive is in accordance with section 100 (1) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703).

The Ministry mentioned that this is to help fight the menace of illegal mining, popularly known as “galamsey,” and to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the provisions of L.I. 2404.

Ghana is suffering from the detrimental effects of illegal small-scale mining activities called “galamsey.” Several water bodies like the River Pra, Daboase, and River Ankobra have suffered from galamsey pollution across the country.

In 2017, the Head of Communications at the Ghana Water Company, Steve Mantey, mentioned that plants in Kyebi , which were meant for water treatment, had to be shut down due to pollution of the Birim river, which is beyond treatment.

Earlier this month, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, during a media engagement, noted that the practice could lead to a ban on Ghana’s cocoa beans on the international market, with an adverse effect on the country’s economy.

Source: The Independent Ghana