ICU demands halt to talks over proposed 70% VALCO stake transfer

The Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU-Ghana) has called on the government to immediately suspend negotiations over the proposed transfer of a controlling stake in the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO) to a private investor.

The union says it supports efforts to modernise, retool and expand the aluminium company, but opposes any arrangement that would result in the State losing control of what it describes as a strategic national asset.

The demand follows the inauguration by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources on 21 August of a negotiating team tasked with agreeing definitive terms with a prospective strategic investor for VALCO's retooling and expansion.

In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Morgan Ayawine, on Thursday, the ICU questioned the government's description of the proposed transaction as not amounting to “outright privatisation”.

The union said this position needed clarification because information previously presented to it indicated that 70% of VALCO's equity could be transferred to a private investor.

“In our considered view, ceding a controlling interest in a wholly State-owned company to a private investor would, in substance, result in a significant transfer of ownership and control,” the ICU said.

The union also questioned how the prospective investor was selected.

According to the ICU, Lands and Natural Resources Minister Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah had told workers that no investor had yet been selected.

The union said this appeared inconsistent with information it had gathered about an investor-selection process initiated by the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) in November 2025.

It said GIADEC subsequently announced on 8 January 2026 that investors had been secured.

The ICU also referred to a 30 July 2026 letter from Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Berhad, which it said was publicly understood to be the principal technical and smelting partner of the Arch Holdings consortium.

According to the union, Press Metal indicated that its only submission before the January announcement had been a Letter of Intent dated 29 September 2025.

The company also reportedly indicated that representatives of Press Metal and Vitol did not physically visit VALCO until April 2026.

The ICU said those circumstances raised questions about the basis on which the consortium was considered suitable for the proposed transaction.

“A Letter of Intent, by itself, does not necessarily constitute a completed technical assessment, a binding financial commitment or evidence of operational capacity,” the union said.

It wants the government to explain how the consortium was assessed and selected.

Concerns over investor composition

The ICU also raised concerns about the reported withdrawal of Press Metal from the proposed transaction.

It is demanding that government disclose the current composition of the prospective strategic investor and demonstrate that the group has the technical and financial capacity to undertake the planned investment.

“The Ministry must therefore disclose, in the interest of transparency, who currently constitutes the prospective strategic investor and on what basis the Government intends to proceed with negotiations,” the union said.

The union added that its preliminary inquiries into Arch Holdings Consortium had identified issues which, in its view, required further clarification and independent verification.

The ICU said VALCO's operational difficulties required urgent action but argued that transferring controlling ownership to a private investor was not the only option.

It proposed reliable and competitively priced electricity, State-backed recapitalisation, appropriate debt financing, operational and governance reforms, and measurable performance targets as possible alternatives.

The union said such measures could help modernise and restore VALCO while keeping control of the company in State hands.

ICU wants petition addressed first

The union said its opposition to the proposed equity transfer began before the negotiating team was inaugurated.

Its National Executive Council formally resolved against the proposed transfer of 70% of VALCO's equity on 31 July, according to the statement.

Four days earlier, on 27 July, the ICU organised a demonstration in Tema and petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to keep VALCO under full State ownership.

It now wants the government to address the concerns contained in that petition before negotiations proceed.

The ICU is calling on President Mahama to direct the Lands and Natural Resources Minister to suspend processes leading to the proposed transfer while the transaction undergoes a comprehensive review and the union receives a formal response to its petition.

“VALCO is a strategic national asset,” the union said, arguing that decisions about the company's future should be guided by Ghana's national interest, workers, industry and future generations.