The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU-Ghana) has reiterated its opposition to the proposed transfer of a significant equity stake in the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO) to a private investor, insisting that the strategic aluminium producer should remain fully owned and controlled by the state.
The union’s position follows the inauguration of a negotiating team by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources on August 21, 2026, to engage a prospective strategic investor on the terms of an agreement aimed at retooling and expanding VALCO.
In a statement issued last Thursday and signed by its General Secretary, Morgan Ayawine, the ICU said it supported efforts to modernise, retool and expand VALCO. However, it stressed that it would not support any arrangement that resulted in controlling ownership of the company being transferred to private interests.
The union noted that the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, had assured Ghanaians that the proposed transaction would not constitute “outright privatisation.”
The ICU, however, said the assurance raised concerns, particularly in light of information previously shared with the union indicating that the proposed arrangement could involve the transfer of 70 per cent of VALCO’s equity. It said transferring a controlling interest in a wholly state-owned company to a private investor would represent a significant change in ownership and control, irrespective of whether the arrangement is described as a strategic investment, capital injection or modernisation programme.
The ICU said its position on the proposed transaction predated the inauguration of the negotiating team. According to the statement, the union’s National Executive Council formally resolved on July 31, 2026, to oppose the proposed transfer of a 70 per cent equity stake in VALCO. Earlier, on July 27, this year, the union organised a peaceful demonstration in Tema and submitted a petition to President John Dramani Mahama, urging him to ensure that VALCO remains a strategic national asset under full State ownership.
ICU has, therefore, called for its concerns contained in the petition to be considered before the proposed transaction proceeds. The ICU also raised questions about the process through which the prospective investor was identified. The union said it was made to understand that the Minister of Lands had informed workers that no investor had yet been selected.
However, it said, the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) inaugurated an investor-selection committee in November 2025 and subsequently announced on January 8, 2026, that investors had been secured.
The ICU further referred to a July 30, 2026 letter from Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Berhad, which the union identified as a technical and smelting partner associated with the Arch Holdings consortium. According to the ICU, Press Metal indicated that its submission before the January announcement was a Letter of Intent dated September 29, 2025.
The union said representatives of Press Metal and Vitol visited the VALCO facility in April 2026. The ICU said the developments warranted further clarification regarding the assessment of the prospective investor’s technical and operational capacity. The union also referred to Press Metal’s subsequent withdrawal from the proposed transaction.
It said the development called for clarification regarding the current composition and technical arrangements of the prospective strategic investor, urging the government to disclose the current composition of the prospective investor and the basis on which negotiations would proceed.
Suspension
The union insisted that VALCO could be modernised without ceding controlling ownership to private interests. It outlined measures including reliable and competitively priced power, competent management, state‑backed recapitalisation, appropriate debt financing, operational and governance reforms, and clear performance benchmarks.
The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) demanded the immediate suspension of the ongoing process until its concerns were addressed, stressing that any proposed transaction must undergo thorough legal, financial, technical, institutional, and stakeholder review. The ICU underscored that VALCO is a strategic national asset whose future must be safeguarded in line with the country’s national interest, workers’ welfare, industrial development, and the needs of future generations.
