President Nana Akufo-Addo (middle) in a group photograph with newly constituted board of Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation at the Jubilee House
PRESIDENT NANA Akufo-Addo hastasked the Governing Board of the Ghana Integrated Aluminum Corporation to bring about the formation of a vibrant aluminum industry in Ghana.
President Akufo-Addo made the call at the Jubilee House after swearing in Directors of the newly constituted Board.
The President told the Directors that the obligations of Ghana under the $2 billion dollar Sino Hydro deal require that “we supply them with aluminium products as payment in return for $2 billion dollars worth of projects.
He stated that “With the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation headed by the astute solid Ghanaian professionals with reputable international credentials and a Board composed of some diverse, experienced and well grounded personalities, I am confident that the Corporation will enjoy the benefits of your considerable abilities in the discharge of its duties in helping realise the objectives of the Corporation,”
According to him, “aluminium is often described as the metal of the future. If that is the case, we have its raw material, that is bauxite in abundance in Ghana. The time has come to make a concerted effort not only to bring the raw materials into play, but to establish the full value chain of the product so we can have a vibrant aluminium industry in Ghana.”
He indicated that the journey to create an aluminium industry in Ghana, “began in 1948, through the establishment of the VALCO Aluminum Company. Kaiser Aluminium made an investment together with the government of our first President Dr. Kwame Nkrumah in 1961, resulting in the building of the Akosombo Dam.”
He added that “It was intended that Kaiser, subsequent to the construction of the Dam, will exploit the country’s bauxite resources to serve as feedstock for smelters at VALCO. Unfortunately this never happened.”
He averred “to this end, we cannot, in the modern era, stumble twice on our journey of giving value to our significant natural resources of bauxite and thereby accelerating our industrial development and transformation.”
Board Assures
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Oteng Gyasi, in his response on behalf of members of the Board told the President that they were aware of the industrialization intentions of the President and the place of Aluminum in the programme of the President.
He noted that “It is not for us to make promises, but for our work to speak for itself. We will do our ought most best to realize the dream, vision and mandate you have given us.”
BY Melvin Tarlue