Morgan Ayawine
The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU-Ghana) has maintained its opposition to the proposed transfer of the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO) to private ownership, calling for an immediate halt to ongoing negotiations.
The Union’s stance follows the inauguration of a negotiating team by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources on August 21, 2026, mandated to negotiate definitive terms with a prospective strategic investor for the retooling and expansion of VALCO.
In a statement dated August 27, 2026, and signed by its General Secretary, Morgan Ayawine, the ICU said while it is not opposed to modernisation, its concern is the method, particularly the intention to cede a substantial portion of state equity to a private investor.
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has assured Ghanaians that the transaction would not amount to “outright privatisation.”
However, the ICU said the assurance appears inconsistent with information previously presented to the Union about a proposed transfer of 70 percent equity.
“In our considered view, ceding a controlling interest in a wholly State-owned company to a private investor would, in substance, result in a significant transfer of ownership and control, irrespective of whether the arrangement is described as a strategic investment,” the statement said.
The Union stressed that its opposition pre-dates the negotiating team.
It said its National Executive Council formally resolved against the 70 percent equity transfer on July 31, 2026, after organising a peaceful demonstration in Tema on July 27 and petitioning President John Dramani Mahama to keep VALCO as a strategic national asset under full state ownership.
The ICU also raised questions about the investor-selection process. It said the Minister had told workers no investor had been selected, yet the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) inaugurated an investor-selection committee in November 2025 and announced on January 8, 2026, that investors had been secured.
It further cited a letter dated July 30, 2026, from Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Berhad, understood to be the principal technical partner of the Arch Holdings consortium, indicating its only submission before the January announcement was a Letter of Intent dated September 29, 2025.
Press Metal and Vitol reportedly did not visit VALCO until April 2026.
“A Letter of Intent, by itself, does not necessarily constitute a completed technical assessment, a binding financial commitment or evidence of operational capacity,” the ICU said.
The Union added that Press Metal has subsequently withdrawn, raising questions about the current composition, technical capacity and financial credibility of the prospective investor.
It called for full disclosure and independent scrutiny of the process and said modernisation does not require loss of state control.
The ICU proposed alternative measures including reliable and competitively priced power, competent management, state-backed recapitalisation, debt financing and governance reforms.
It urged President Mahama to direct the Minister to halt the process pending a comprehensive review and a formal response to its petition.
“VALCO is a strategic national asset. Its future must be determined by what best serves Ghana’s national interest,” the statement said.
A Business Desk Report