The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has assured workers of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) that the government has no plans of privatising the state-owned smelter.
Rather, he said efforts were being made to attract strategic private capital to revitalise the company and make it a win-win to serve the national interest.
He stated that persons who were spreading falsehood about the reforms being explored by the government would not be allowed to frustrate the process.
The minister said this when he paid a working visit to the state-owned company yesterday in the aftermath of a protest by the workers over alleged attempts to privatise the smelter.
"I am here to have a very frank conversation with you as workers of VALCO. Nobody will sell VALCO; not under the watch of President John Mahama," he stressed.
Context
On Monday, July 27, some workers of VALCO and the Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union (ICU-Ghana) protested against alleged attempts to privatise the state-owned aluminium smelter.
The protesters expressed concern over what they claimed was an attempt by the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) to introduce strategic equity investors into VALCO, stressing that such a move amounted to privatisation of a critical national asset.
Led by the General Secretary of the ICU Ghana, Morgan Ayawini, the protesters presented a petition to the Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Ebi Bright, for onward presentation to the President.
Rebuttal
In what he described as a frank conversation with the staff of VALCO, the minister stressed that the reforms being explored by the government were meant to resuscitate the company, which was currently choking with debts.
"You are working hard, but the company is not doing well. As we speak, the company owes over $250 million to power companies. In the midst of all these debts, people are getting their salaries at the end of the month, but they do not want the truth to be known. As of now, we need over $700 million to put the company on winning ways," he said.
Mr Buah stressed that anyone who wanted to deliberately frustrate the reforms would not be allowed to do so.
"We cannot continue to let the status quo remain. Anyone who wants the future sustainability of VALCO must be interested in steps being taken to revive it," he added.
He said there was no truth in the narrative that the government had sold VALCO.
"It is an absolute untruth; all there is to this VALCO situation is that the government has given the go-ahead to bring reforms that will revive the company," he explained.
Prospects
Mr Buah said the reforms being explored would be followed through religiously because the government had the ultimate responsibility to reform VALCO and make it employ about 2,000 workers instead of the current 800.
"We want to make it beneficial to the people of Tema and Ghana as a whole.
We will fight to revive VALCO, and no one can stop it," he assured.
Cooperation
The minister called on the workers and management of VALCO to cooperate with the government to implement the reforms instead of fighting the process.
"The ultimate responsibility to make the smelter work is not for employees but for management and the government.”
He said the government was ready to work with employees who wanted to work well and be committed to the well-being of the company.
"Those who want to malign the reforms and run down the company with falsehood cannot continue to be here," he emphasised.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of VALCO, Dr Robert Makila Sambian, assured the workers that the reforms being undertaken by the government were in the interest of reviving the company.
He urged them to remain steadfast to the process and avoid any retrogressive tendencies.
