VALCO workers protest alleged plans to privatise state-owned aluminium company

Workers of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO), supported by members of the Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union (ICU-Ghana), on Monday staged a protest against what they described as attempts to privatise the state-owned aluminium smelter.

Dressed in red, the demonstrators gathered at the VALCO Club House in Tema Community 4 in the Greater Accra Region from about 6:00 a.m., displaying placards and chanting slogans to express their opposition to any proposal to sell shares in the company.

Some of the placards carried messages such as: "GIADEC and its CEO Reindolf Twumasi Ankrah is a big scandal to this government," "Mr President, Protect VALCO, Say no to shady VALCO deals," "Mr President, your people are not telling you the truth about VALCO," "It's our responsibility as Ghanaians to protect state assets," "VALCO is not for sale," "ICU-GH and VALCO workers are poised to resist any attempt to sell VALCO," and "Who is behind ARCH Holdings Limited?"

The protesters alleged that the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) was pursuing plans to bring strategic equity investors into VALCO, a move they argued would effectively amount to the privatisation of a key national asset.

They maintained that VALCO should remain under state ownership and called on the government to protect the company from what they described as attempts to transfer its ownership to private interests.

The demonstration, led by ICU-Ghana General Secretary Morgan Ayawine, ended with the presentation of a petition to the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Ebi Bright, for onward transmission to President John Dramani Mahama.