Mr. John Afful, Communications Director for the Responsible Co-operative Mining and Skills Development Programme (RCOMSDEP), has disclosed that a significant number of excavators were imported into the country under the previous administration without being properly registered.
According to him, this situation created serious challenges for effective monitoring and regulation of heavy-duty machinery, particularly within the small-scale and cooperative mining sectors. He stressed that the lack of proper documentation allowed the misuse of excavators, contributing to environmental degradation and illegal mining activities across several parts of the country.
Speaking on the need for accountability, Mr. Afful explained that registration of excavators is critical for tracking ownership, usage, and compliance with national laws.
He noted that the failure to enforce strict registration protocols in the past weakened state oversight and made it difficult for authorities to differentiate between legally acquired equipment and those being used for unlawful operations. This loophole, he said, undermined genuine efforts to promote responsible mining and sustainable resource management.
Mr. Afful emphasized that RCOMSDEP is committed to supporting government initiatives aimed at sanitizing the mining sector and ensuring that all excavators currently in the country are duly registered and regulated.
He called for stronger inter-agency collaboration and stricter enforcement measures to prevent a recurrence of such lapses. According to him, ensuring transparency and accountability in the importation and use of excavators is essential to protecting the environment, promoting skills development, and safeguarding the long-term interests of the nation.
