Galamsey: 6,000 excavators registered, 3,000 seized for non-compliance — DVLA CEO

The Chief Executive Officer of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Julius Neequaye Kotey, has revealed that thousands of excavators used in illegal mining operations were deliberately left unregistered to conceal their ownership.

Speaking on Channel One TV’s Face to Face with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Tuesday, August 19, Mr. Kotey said investigations uncovered that none of the excavators seized during anti-galamsey operations had been properly documented in the DVLA system.

“If you buy a vehicle, before you use it, you must make sure you register the vehicle; it’s part of our law. We were like, how come the excavators were not registered? It’s deliberate because if they register, we will be able to trace the owners, and the police can arrest them. There were no number plates,” he explained.

To plug the loophole, the DVLA rolled out a new directive mandating that all excavators be registered straight from the ports before clearance.

“The ones at the ports, within two weeks, we registered over 1,000 excavators,” Mr. Kotey disclosed.

He added that a two-week ultimatum was later given for existing excavators already in the country to be registered, resulting in more than 5,000 machines being brought into the system.

Despite these efforts, he said a significant number of excavators were still operating illegally until they were seized.

“We have seized about 3,000 excavators; they are there at the VALCO compound for parking,” he revealed.

Mr. Kotey stressed that the DVLA’s clampdown has created a traceable record system for heavy-duty machinery, making it harder for illegal mining operators to hide behind anonymity.