The Board Chairman of the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO), Horace Nii Ayi Ankrah, has allayed fears of workers that the company is being sold to the senior brother of the President, Ibrahim Mahama.
The Chairman said VALCO is not for sale, and neither Mr Ibrahim Mahama nor any individual has expressed interest in buying or investing in VALCO.
Some workers of VALCO, together with members of the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU-Ghana), on Monday, July 27, 2026, staged a protest against what they described as attempts to privatise the state-owned aluminium smelter.
Clad in red attire, the workers converged at the VALCO Club House at Tema Community 4 in the Greater Accra Region at 6:00 a.m., carrying placards and chanting slogans to register their opposition to any move to sell shares in the company.
Some of the placards read: “GIADEC and its CEO Reindolf Twumasi Ankrah are 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 expressed concern over what they claimed were efforts by the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) to introduce strategic equity investors into VALCO, insisting that such a move amounted to privatisation of a critical national asset. Ghana travel guide
Reacting to the development in an interview with Onua News, the Board Chairman, Amb. Horace Nii Ayi Ankrah, said, “The board has not, and I repeat, has not received any offer from Mr Ibrahim Mahama wanting to even buy shares or own VALCO.”
“What I know is that, one, VALCO is not for sale, and two, it is not for sale to Mr Ibrahim Mahama, the President’s brother,” the Chairman added.
Strategic investor
Mr. Ankrah said that what VALCO is seeking now is an investor who would buy shares, and that is what VALCO is interested in.
“I prefer an investor to a strategic investor, and my reason is this. A strategic investor would like to have control, and when we talk about dividends, we are talking about shares, but when we talk about an investor, he or she simply wants his or her profit,” he explained.
“VALCO as it is now, we wouldn’t mind if any investor came in and moved it further than it is now.”
He added that even though there is no investor currently, the government is doing all it can to ensure that VALCO becomes a better place.
Nii Ayi Ankrah called for the decoupling of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) from VALCO.
“I keep saying and I strongly believe that until GIADEC is decoupled from VALCO, these are some of the things that we will see. Misunderstanding, miscommunication, disinformation and stuff like that. For example, since when did Mr Ibrahim Mahama show any interest in VALCO?” It has never happened.”
Job loss fear
Amb. Ankrah admitted that anytime there is a privatisation, there is job loss but assured that VALCO workers would keep their positions should there be an investor.
“You have to understand the workers because everywhere in this world, when there is any strategic investor or any privatisation, no matter who you are, there would be job losses, so if you can think that these workers have families to feed, yes, they will be concerned.”
He added that “if they hear that there is a strategic investor coming in, they will share concerns, but there has never been a strategic investor or privatisation of VALCO, and there will never be job losses.”
Nii Ayi Ankrah assured that “the workers are sharing the right kind of fear, but I can assure them that no matter what it is, we will make sure that no worker loses his position at VALCO.”
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