By Kodjo Adams, GNA
Accra, July 27, GNA – The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) has appealed to President John Mahama to stop what it described as the proposed sale of a majority stake in the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO).
The Union said the company was a strategic national asset that should remain under state ownership, citing recent operational improvements and concerns about the potential impact of private ownership.
Mr Morgan Ayawine, General Secretary of ICU-Ghana, made the appeal in a statement issued to the Ghana News Agency after leading VALCO workers and national officers of the Union in a protest at Tema against the proposed transaction.
“Credible information available to the Union indicates that the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) is determined to proceed with the release of a 70 per cent equity stake in VALCO to Arch Holdings Consortium.
“This transaction will thereby hand over the management and operations of the company to a private investor,” he said.
Mr Ayawine said transferring a controlling stake in VALCO to a private investor would deprive the State of ownership of a strategic national asset.
He said the proposed transaction posed risks, including potential job losses, reduced workers’ welfare and adverse financial consequences for both the workforce and the State.
Mr Ayawine said VALCO had recorded significant progress under a structured optimisation programme guided by a five-year roadmap to restore operational efficiency, expand production capacity and strengthen the company’s competitiveness within the regional aluminium industry.
He said investments in plant and equipment, infrastructure rehabilitation, operational improvements and workforce development had begun to improve the company’s performance.
“This progress must also be viewed within the broader context of VALCO’s pivotal role in Ghana’s Integrated Aluminium Industry, which, in our considered view, should remain wholly owned by the people of Ghana.”
Mr Ayawine said the progress being made demonstrated Ghana’s capacity to manage the strategic enterprise efficiently and sustainably in the national interest.
“We are aware that the indigenisation of strategic enterprises and the protection of sustainable employment are causes that are dear to President Mahama’s heart, and VALCO should be no exception.
“We therefore remain confident that, as a listening President, you will not allow GIADEC to proceed with a transaction that would undermine the nation’s strategic interest and place VALCO, its dedicated workforce, and the people of Ghana at a disadvantage,” he said.
Mr Ayawine appealed to the President to give favourable consideration to the Union’s concerns, taking into account what he said was the significant progress being made by the board and management of VALCO.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey
Reporter: Kodjo Adams