We’re Tracking 724 Excavators Across Ghana- Lands Ministry

The Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources says 724 newly imported excavators are being tracked across the country.

This is part of a rolled-out geo-tracking and geofencing system for all heavy earth-moving equipment imported into the country.

As part of this initiative, importers are enjoined to disclose the intended purpose and operational location when an excavator is imported.

“Once this requirement is satisfied, the machine is registered and fitted with a GPS tracker under the new monitoring system. If an excavator moves outside its approved zone, the tracker sends an urgent alert, and the machine can be remotely disabled from the Minerals Commission’s control room, which runs 24/7,” Media Relations Officer of the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Paa Kwesi Schandorf, explained in a statement.

According to him, once it is detected that an excavator is being used for a foul purpose or moving out of its registered station, the tracker will trigger an instant deactivation.

This initiative was devised by the government to control the importation and use of excavators, which have been discovered to be the principal equipment in illegal mining activities, particularly in forest reserves.

According to Schandorf, excavators in various forests have wreaked havoc in 44 out of the 288 forest reserves, which translates into 5,500 hectares and about 7,500 standard football fields.

“The main equipment used to cause this dire destruction was excavators — and for the record, over the last eight years, none of the excavators imported into the country were registered, tracked, or monitored.”

Story by Hajara Fuseini

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