Ghana to issue permits for excavator importers - President Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has announced that the government was going to review the processes for importing excavators into Ghana and that permits will now be issued to importers to ensure that all equipment imported into the country can tracked on how they are being used.

According to the President, Ghana as of now has more excavators in the country than the whole of Africa.

President Mahama said the new move was part of efforts to fight illegal mining in Ghana which is mainly due to the use of excavators by illegal miners to destroy the environment.

President Mahama was speaking at the Global Mining Summit in Accra on Monday [June 2, 2025]

Read also: President Mahama on how GoldBod will push for gold refineries in Ghana

Announcing the strict “No Permit, No Excavator” policy as part of sweeping measures to clamp down on illegal mining and promote sustainable practices in the mining sector President declared that henceforth, no excavator would be allowed into the country without prior permit and that all equipment would be tracked to monitor their use in mining activities.  

“We are going to change the permitting regime.

You will not be allowed to import an excavator or put it on a ship to Ghana unless you get a permit,” the President said.

President Mahama further stated that, “Ghana has more excavators in this country than in the whole of Africa”.

He explained that the move was aimed at curbing the rampant use of heavy machinery in illegal mining operations, which had devastated forests and polluted water bodies.

A real-time tracking system would be implemented to monitor excavators and ensure they are not used for unauthorised mining.  

Summit

The conference, held on the theme "Sustainable Mining & Local Growth – Leveraging Resources for Global Impact," brought together industry leaders, policymakers and key stakeholders from the country and across the world to explore strategies for responsible resource development.

Among participants were former President John Agyekum Kufuor; the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah; the ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation, Sédiko Douka, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the World Gold Council, David Tait.  

The event also featured prominent figures such as the Manager of Emirates Bullion Market Committee, Sudheesh Nambiath; the Head of Mining and Metals Origination at StoneX, Tom de Boinville, and a former CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Mines and current Executive Director of EFEDCOM, Sulemanu Koney.  

With over 400 delegates from 20 countries and more than 100 organisations in attendance, the conference provided a dynamic platform for knowledge exchange.

Around 50 speakers will deliver insights into sustainable mining practices, local economic development, and the global impact of responsible resource management.

President Mahama recalled that eight out of nine forest reserves previously invaded by illegal miners had been successfully cleared, with river guards actively removing mining activities from water bodies.  

“We will reclaim our forest reserves and restore the purity of our rivers,” he said, adding that the government was working with artisanal miners to transition them into legal and environmentally sustainable mining cooperatives.  

President Mahama said to address the challenges of illegal mining, the government was rolling out initiatives such as the Cooperative Mining and Skills Development Programme and the Ghana Landscape Restoration and Small-Scale Mining Project.

Those programmes,he added, would provide miners with legal access to land, training and safer alternatives to harmful chemicals such as mercury.  

“Artisanal miners are not enemies of the state, if properly trained and supported, they can be allies in our development,” the President said. 

He said the newly established Gold Board (GoldBod) had already begun sanitising the gold sector, ensuring better revenue from exports.

Between January and April 2025, Ghana earned $2.7 billion from gold exports through the board and the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC).  

The board would soon introduce a track-and-trace system to certify that exported gold came from environmentally responsible sources.

Additionally, it would train small-scale miners in sustainable practices and work towards securing London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) certification for Ghanaian gold, the President revealed.  

In collaboration with the private sector, the government would launch a 10,000-hectare land reclamation project to restore degraded mining sites.  

“Mining cannot be sustainable unless it is responsible,” the President stated.

“We are banning toxic chemicals, enforcing rehabilitation clauses in mining permits and promoting renewable energy in mining operations,” President Mahama stated.

The President called for stronger African collaboration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), urging partnerships with mineral-rich nations such as Guinea (bauxite) the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which has rich cobalt deposits, and South Africa (platinum) to maximise value retention on the continent.  

With a rallying call for innovation, accountability and shared prosperity, President Mahama declared the Mining in Motion Summit 2025 officially open, setting the stage for policy discussions on the future of Africa’s mining sector.  

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who also addressed the conference, attributed the persistence of galamsey to regulatory failures, political miscalculations and corruption.

"Weak enforcement and political interference have undermined all efforts to stop this menace," he said.  

The Asantehene warned that the continuous destruction of water bodies through illegal mining posed a serious threat to the country’s environment and future, and called for urgent and sustained action to halt the illegal activities.

The Secretary-General of AfCFTA, Wamkele Mene, encouraged best practices to enhance regional gold trading and cooperation to bolster mining sector expansion.

He said to address mining sector challenges, it was imperative to enhance digitalisation to reduce transaction costs and enhance traceability and financial inclusion.

Mr Mene added that the Mining in Motion 2025 summit was timely, given African Union’s adoption of its Digital Protocol in February this year.

The protocol aims to use digitalisation mechanisms such as gold tokenisation to drive sustainability, poverty eradication and to create jobs.

“There are challenges to economic growth such as nationalisation of resources and trade wars.

Africa must respond to these challenges. AfCFTA provides an opportunity to create a [regional] market and achieve the African Union’s Agenda 2063 of economic integration,” Mr Mene said.