Horace Nii Ayi Ankrah
The Board Chairman of the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO), Ambassador Horace Nii Ayi Ankrah, has declared that the state-owned aluminium smelter has returned to profitability, dismissing claims that it remains a financial burden on the government.
Speaking on TV3 over the weekend, Ambassador Ankrah said VALCO has consistently recorded profits since the current board and management took office six months ago, describing the company’s turnaround as a major milestone.
“We are making profits, so if anybody should tell you that VALCO is making losses, that is very untrue. In the last six months since the Board came into being, VALCO has been seeing profits,” he stated.
According to him, the company has transformed from a loss-making enterprise into what he described as “a profit-making machine.”
Although he did not provide detailed financial statements, Ambassador Ankrah disclosed that VALCO generated more than US$3.1 million in profit in the past month alone.
“I don’t have the right figures, but I know that in the last month, we made over US$3.1 million profit,” he revealed.
The Board Chairman rejected suggestions that the aluminium producer continues to depend on government support to remain operational, insisting that the company is no longer a liability to the state.
“It is not a liability on government because government has not put anything there for government to say that, ‘Oh, you are running at a loss,'” he said.
He acknowledged that VALCO still owes money to the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo), but explained that the company is steadily servicing its obligations.
“Yes, we owe money to VRA and GRIDCo, but if you check with them, they will tell you that VALCO today is able to be paying whatever they owe as we go along,” he stated.
Ambassador Ankrah attributed the company’s improved financial performance to the industrialisation agenda of President John Dramani Mahama, coupled with the efforts of the current board, management and workforce.
“Under President John Mahama and his vision for industrialisation, VALCO that has been in deficit for so long is now seeing profit,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the company’s current trajectory points to a sustainable turnaround driven by improved operational efficiency and sound management practices.
“So VALCO is not running at a loss. VALCO is turning around by the vision of the President, by efforts being made by the current management and the current workforce. VALCO is being turned around by the current Board that we have in place,” he added.
The Board Chairman maintained that the company’s renewed profitability demonstrates that VALCO is steadily reclaiming its position as a viable and productive state-owned enterprise.
By Ernest Kofi Adu