All excavators in the country are to be registered by November 2 this year with the Metropolitan, Municipal or District Assembly (MMDAs) where the equipment is located.
Failure by the owners or users of the excavator to register their excavator, would result in its confiscation, whether found at a mining site or any other operational site.
Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, who gave the directive, said as part of the registration, the owner or operator of an excavator was expected to specify the purpose for which the excavator was being used or to be used for and the area where the excavator was being used or would be used.
The directive, contained in a statement signed and issued by the minister in Accra yesterday, was part of new measures being rolled out to intensify the fight against illegal mining.
It explained that the directive was in line with the Minerals and Mining (Mineral Operations – Tracking of Earthmoving and Mining Equipment) Regulations, 2020 (L.I. 2404), which empowers the Minerals Commission to register and track all earthmoving and mining equipment used in mining operations.
“Any excavator that is not registered within the given period would be seized and the necessary legal steps taken to confiscate same to the State,” it added.
The MMDAs, as part of the registration, the statement said would record the name and particulars of the owner of the excavator; the date it was brought into the country and its registration number and chassis number.
Additionally, the MMDAs were to record the purposes for which it was brought into the country, the area where the excavator was expected to be used; the name and particulars of the current operator or user of the equipment and other particulars.
The statement said the Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, had been formally notified of the directive and had accordingly urged all MMDAs to ensure strict compliance.
It asked the public, and particularly owners, operators of excavators, as well as all MMDAs to ensure strict compliance with the directives.
The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources further reassured Ghanaians that it would continue to take the necessary measures to protect the country’s natural environment, particularly, water bodies, forests and lands, in a transparent and sustainable manner.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS
