EPA gave Empire Cement three months to plan relocation in 2023 – Former EPA Boss

Former Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) Executive Director Dr Henry Kwabena Kokofu says Empire Cement Ghana Limited was given three months in 2023 to prepare a plan to relocate its factory after regulators raised concerns about its location near the Densu Delta Ramsar Site.

He said the company was warned about the facility during its early stages of development, but the relocation process stalled after management sought ministerial intervention.

Dr Kokofu explained that by 2023, construction of the cement grinding and bagging facility was about 90 per cent complete, making immediate demolition difficult. The EPA consequently issued a limited operating permit to allow monitoring and the collection of scientific evidence to guide subsequent regulatory decisions.

He said the company was nevertheless expected to submit a relocation plan within three months, but its petition to the ministry responsible for Science and the Environment led to further intervention under the legal framework at the time.

Dr Kokofu said the experience highlighted the limitations of the previous regulatory regime, particularly the ability of a sector minister to intervene in EPA decisions. He welcomed the current legal framework, which he said strengthened the authority’s powers and reduced the need for ministerial involvement in such matters.

“With this particular Empire Cement thing, EPA was very proactive from the very beginning and warnings were given,” he said, recounting the events during his tenure.

He added that the authority had required the company to plan for a full relocation despite granting the temporary permit, stressing that the arrangement was not intended to allow the facility to remain at its current location indefinitely.

Dr Kokofu made the disclosure on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, October 29, amid renewed regulatory action against Empire Cement’s operations near the Densu Delta Ramsar Site.

The EPA directed the company on October 28, 2026, to submit a comprehensive relocation plan within 30 days, while maintaining that its earlier closure notice, issued on September 14, remains in force.