A high-profile economic policy advisor is demanding a coordinated, multi-agency investigation to unmask the powerful individuals and syndicates financing Ghana’s illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) menace.
Dr. Sharif Mahmud Khalid, an Economic Adviser to the Vice-President, has thrown down the gauntlet to the nation’s security and legal apparatus, arguing that the true battle against galamsey lies in disrupting the logistical and financial supply chain of excavators and Changfans.
Speaking on Channel One TV on Saturday, October 11, 2025, Dr. Khalid called for a shift in strategy from simply seizing equipment at mining sites to tracing ownership through official imports and financial records.
“I will call on the security agencies and the legal institutes that are mandated to look at this to actually help us lift the veil of ownerships of these excavators—not just excavators and Changfans,” Dr. Khalid asserted.
The Equipment Supply Chain: A $2 Billion Black Market
The Economic Adviser’s focus on “lifting the veil of ownership” highlights the often-ignored financial backbone of galamsey. Security experts estimate that the illegal importation and operation of heavy machinery for gold extraction represent a black market potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars, feeding a broader illegal gold trade that deprives the state of over $2 billion annually in revenue and taxes, according to 2024 reports from the Minerals Commission.
The key pieces of equipment in the spotlight are:
Excavators: High-capacity earth-moving machines, often costing between $100,000 and $500,000 each, whose ownership can be traced through Customs data, import licenses, and commercial bank loans.
Changfans: Locally adapted, diesel-powered dredges used to scoop river beds, known for causing catastrophic pollution. While some Changfans are now reportedly manufactured locally, Dr. Khalid questioned the initial entry point of their foreign prototypes.
Dr. Khalid challenged the state’s security organs, including Customs, Immigration, and the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS), on how these tools bypass scrutiny.
“I do understand from recent conversations that there are locally manufactured Changfans, but before they could manufacture them locally, how could a Changfan get into this country? Through which port? Through which borders? These are all fundamental questions we need to ask our security agencies. When was the first Changfan smuggled into this country? How did it get in?” he demanded.
A Multi-Agency Failure and Security Imperative
Dr. Khalid stressed that the galamsey fight is not a one-man show, arguing that the persistent use of heavy machinery suggests systemic security failures at entry points, licensing bureaus, and financial institutions. He called for a coordinated, intelligence-led operation involving:
-Ghana Immigration Service (GIS): To scrutinize border crossings for equipment parts and illegal operators.
-Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA): To audit import declarations and verify the final destination of declared excavators.
-Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO): To conduct forensic audits on the financing of equipment purchases.
-Attorney General’s Office: To prosecute the high-level beneficiaries found to be the ultimate owners of the equipment.
“This is where the state security agencies, the Immigration, the Customs among others should all come in, because I think this is not a fight that should be made a sole preserve of the President; it is a fight for all of us. It is a fight for all state agencies that ought to play a critical role in actually ending this menace,” Dr. Khalid concluded.
The advisor’s comments come as NAIMOS continues its physical operations on the ground, but security experts repeatedly warn that the battle will only be won by disrupting the supply chain and making the financial risk of investing in galamsey equipment too high for the powerful, hidden financiers.
This move is deemed essential to permanently dismantle the lucrative illegal mining complex that is causing catastrophic environmental damage and public health crises, including the documented rise of arsenic contamination in the food chain.
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