ICU demands halt to proposed VALCO equity transfer
The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU-Ghana) has called for an immediate halt to negotiations between the government and a prospective strategic investor for the retooling and expansion of the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO), pending full disclosure of the terms and ownership structure of the proposed transaction. The union said it was not opposed … The post ICU demands halt to proposed VALCO equity transfer appeared first on Ghanaian Times.
Black News 
The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU-Ghana) has called for an immediate halt to negotiations between the government and a prospective strategic investor for the retooling and expansion of the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO), pending full disclosure of the terms and ownership structure of the proposed transaction.
The union said it was not opposed to the modernisation, retooling and expansion of VALCO but was concerned about the proposed transfer of a substantial portion of the State’s equity in the company to a private investor.
The position follows the inauguration by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, on August 21, 2026, of a negotiating team mandated to negotiate definitive terms with a prospective strategic investor for VALCO.
The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, is reported to have assured Ghanaians that the proposed transaction would not amount to “outright privatisation”.
However, the ICU said that assurance appeared inconsistent with information previously presented to the union concerning the proposed transfer of 70 per cent of VALCO’s equity.
In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Mr Morgan Ayawine, the union said transferring a controlling interest in a wholly State-owned company to a private investor would, in substance, amount to a significant transfer of ownership and control, regardless of whether it was described as a “strategic investment”, “capital injection” or part of a modernisation programme.
The ICU said its opposition to the proposed equity transfer pre-dated the inauguration of the negotiating team.
It mentioned that on July 31, 2026, its National Executive Council formally resolved against the proposed transfer of a 70 per cent equity stake in VALCO.
The union also stated that it organised a peaceful demonstration in Tema on July 27 and submitted a petition to President John Dramani Mahama, appealing to him to ensure that VALCO remained a strategic national asset under full State ownership.
Additionally, it noted that it was, therefore, unacceptable for negotiations on the proposed transaction to continue without the government first addressing the concerns contained in the petition.
The ICU also raised questions about what it described as contradictions surrounding the investor-selection process.
According to the union, it understood that the Lands and Natural Resources Minister had informed workers that no investor had yet been selected.
It said, however, that the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) had inaugurated an investor-selection committee in November 2025 and subsequently announced on January 8, 2026 that investors had been secured.
The union further cited a July 30, 2026 letter from Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Berhad, reportedly the principal technical and smelting partner of the Arch Holdings consortium.
According to the ICU, Press Metal indicated that its only submission before the January 2026 announcement was a Letter of Intent dated September 29, 2025.
It said Press Metal also emphasised that its representatives and Vitol did not physically visit the VALCO facility until April 2026, several months after the announcement that investors had been secured.
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