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  <front>
    <journal-meta>
      <journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">BJCR</journal-id>
      <journal-title-group>
        <journal-title xml:lang="en">British Journal of Contemporary Research</journal-title>
        <abbrev-journal-title xml:lang="en">BJCR</abbrev-journal-title>
      </journal-title-group>
      <issn>2979-8582</issn>
      <publisher>
        <publisher-name>Bexford Publishing Ltd</publisher-name>
        <publisher-loc><uri>https://bexfordpublishing.co.uk</uri></publisher-loc>
      </publisher>
    </journal-meta>
    <article-meta>
      <article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">BEX_AUG_26_073</article-id>
      <article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.67693/BJCR-5HDR5Y2X</article-id>
      <article-categories>
        <subj-group xml:lang="en" subj-group-type="heading">
          <subject>Original Research Article</subject>
        </subj-group>
      </article-categories>
      <title-group>
        <article-title xml:lang="en">A Critical Analysis of the Regulatory Framework Governing Ghana’s Commercial Explosives Sector</article-title>
      </title-group>
      <contrib-group content-type="author">
      <contrib corresp="yes">
        <name-alternatives>
          <name name-style="western" specific-use="primary">
            <given-names>David Kwabena Bonsoh</given-names>
          </name>
        </name-alternatives>
        <email>david.bonsoh.stu@uenr.edu.gh</email>
        <bio xml:lang="en"><p>Department of Forest Science, School of Natural Resources, University of Energy and Natural Resources, P. O. Box 214, Sunyani, Ghana</p></bio>
      </contrib>
      <contrib>
        <name-alternatives>
          <name name-style="western" specific-use="primary">
            <given-names>Prof. Simon Abugre</given-names>
          </name>
        </name-alternatives>
        <email>simon.abugre@uenr.edu.gh</email>
        <bio xml:lang="en"><p>ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5954-4374 | Department of Forest Science, School of Natural Resources, University of Energy and Natural Resources</p></bio>
      </contrib>
      <contrib>
        <name-alternatives>
          <name name-style="western" specific-use="primary">
            <given-names>Prof. Samuel Fosu Gyasi</given-names>
          </name>
        </name-alternatives>
        <email>samuel.gyasi@uenr.edu.gh</email>
        <bio xml:lang="en"><p>ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7166-0335 | Department of Basic and Applied Biology, School of Sciences, University of Energy and Natural Resources</p></bio>
      </contrib>
      <contrib>
        <name-alternatives>
          <name name-style="western" specific-use="primary">
            <given-names>Dr Michael Asigbaase</given-names>
          </name>
        </name-alternatives>
        <email>michael.asigbaase@uenr.edu.gh</email>
        <bio xml:lang="en"><p>ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9162-1149 | Department of Forest Science, School of Natural Resources, University of Energy and Natural Resources</p></bio>
      </contrib>
      <contrib>
        <name-alternatives>
          <name name-style="western" specific-use="primary">
            <given-names>Dr Desmond Boahen</given-names>
          </name>
        </name-alternatives>
        <email>desmond.boahen@mincom.gov.gh</email>
        <bio xml:lang="en"><p>Technical Services &amp; Explosives, Minerals Commission</p></bio>
      </contrib>
      </contrib-group>
      <pub-date date-type="pub" publication-format="epub">
        <day>10</day>
        <month>09</month>
        <year>2026</year>
      </pub-date>
      <volume>1</volume>
      <issue>4</issue>
      
      
      <pub-history>
        <event event-type="received">
          <event-desc>Received: <date date-type="received">
            <day>13</day>
            <month>08</month>
            <year>2026</year>
          </date></event-desc>
        </event>
        
        <event event-type="accepted">
          <event-desc>Accepted: <date date-type="accepted">
            <day>27</day>
            <month>08</month>
            <year>2026</year>
          </date></event-desc>
        </event>
      </pub-history>
      <permissions>
        <copyright-statement>Copyright (c) 2026 David Kwabena Bonsoh</copyright-statement>
        <copyright-year>2026</copyright-year>
        <license xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0">
          <license-p>This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.</license-p>
        </license>
      </permissions>
      <abstract><p>Ghana’s commercial explosives sector plays a critical role in supporting mining, quarrying, construction, and infrastructure development. However, the significant safety, environmental, and security risks associated with explosives necessitate a robust and effective regulatory regime. This study evaluates the adequacy and implementation of the Minerals and Mining (Explosives) Regulations, 2012 (L.I. 2177), identifies regulatory and operational gaps, and proposes measures to enhance governance within the sector. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the study combined documentary analysis with survey data collected from 200 respondents representing affected communities, explosives companies, regulatory authorities, security agencies, and civil society organisations. A purposively selected subset of respondents participated in key informant interviews, while qualitative data were analysed using NVivo and word-frequency analysis techniques. 
The findings indicate that L.I. 2177 establishes a broadly comprehensive regulatory framework covering licensing, competency certification, manufacturing, transportation, storage, record-keeping, emergency preparedness, and disposal of explosives. Despite this, 97% of respondents perceived the existing framework as inadequate, while 96.98% advocated for stronger regulatory attention to the environmental impacts of explosives operations. Key shortcomings identified include fragmented environmental oversight, limited institutional capacity, irregular inspections, weak enforcement mechanisms, reliance on manual inventory management systems, inadequate digital traceability, insufficient emergency preparedness exercises, poor inter-agency information sharing, and ineffective controls against the diversion of explosives.
The study concludes that strengthening governance in Ghana’s commercial explosives sector requires comprehensive regulatory reform. It recommends the integration of explosives-specific environmental assessment requirements, digital supply-chain tracking systems, risk-based inspection regimes, enhanced sanctions for non-compliance, improved institutional coordination, and community-centred emergency preparedness measures to promote safety, accountability, and sustainable sector management.</p></abstract>
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  </front>
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