The standoff between management and workers of the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO) has taken a new turn, as the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC), Reindorf Twumasi Ankrah, formally rejected a series of allegations made by the VALCO Workers Union, describing them as “false, misleading, and unsupported by facts.”

The confrontation follows protests by VALCO workers on February 9, 2026, and a formal statement issued by the union on February 10, 2026, in which workers demanded the resignation of Mr. Ankrah, accused him of mismanagement and misrepresentation of VALCO’s financial position, and alleged that he was attempting to “secretly sell” the company through what they described as an aggressive and rushed privatization agenda.

The local union chairman, Samuel Watchman Agyeman, also petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to immediately dismiss the GIADEC CEO, citing loss of confidence in his leadership and alleging a lack of stakeholder engagement.

GIADEC CEO’s Response

In response, Mr. Ankrah dismissed the union’s claims as “false, misleading, and unsupported by facts,” emphasizing that the initiative to bring in private investors is a continuation of inherited state policy, aimed at preventing a total shutdown of the plant, retrofitting it, and safeguarding jobs.

He added that claims that VALCO has made significant improvements under its new board and management cannot be true when one looks at the records. He clarified that the VALCO board only assumed office around December 22, 2025, making it impossible to attribute operational or financial successes—if any—within three months to the current leadership.

He further stressed that the plant, under the new managing director (Robert Sambian), who until his appointment was the head of finance at VALCO, recorded a historic loss of over $22 million in 2025, despite the hike in aluminium prices on the world market.

Mr. Ankrah therefore stated that if indeed any improvement had been made in the operations of VALCO, it should have reflected in its financials, but the loss of $22 million in 2025 is testament to the fact that nothing has changed.

Mr. Ankrah challenged claims regarding workforce size, stating that Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) records show a maximum of about 750 employees, contrary to the union’s figure of over 800. He stressed that even if the number were 800, records show the plant has the capacity to employ more hands, and that is the goal.

On production, he clarified that VALCO operates five production lines, with plans to retrofit and expand to six. He rejected allegations of a rushed privatization and stressed that there is no attempt to privatize VALCO; rather, the plan is to enter into a joint ownership arrangement where VALCO will be owned partly by government and partly by the private sector. He said the ongoing process is one that has been in motion for over six years and has, at every step, involved official representation from VALCO.

Mr. Ankrah stated that VALCO’s $22 million loss in 2025 is consistent with an established pattern of loss-making by VALCO over the years, arguing that the so-called claims of recent dramatic improvements are not reflected in the official financial records or performance of the company. He further added that these claims of dramatic improvements are a further attempt by some individuals at VALCO to whitewash the precarious situation at hand, downplay the need for investment, and keep VALCO as it is for their parochial interests.

He added that an immediate past MD of VALCO, Hon. Titus Glover, has come out publicly to unequivocally state that VALCO, as he knows it, needs strategic equity investment to turn things around, otherwise the situation will become irredeemable.

In responding to the comments made by the board chairman of VALCO in his recent interview on TV3, Mr. Ankrah said those comments are not reflective of the realities on the ground and should be ignored, and considered as a coordinated attempt by a handful of people to stampede efforts to build a vibrant VALCO. He further stated that the statement demanding a decoupling of VALCO from GIADEC betrays a lack of proper understanding of the rationale for the establishment of GIADEC.

He insisted that all actions taken are in line with the government’s constitutional mandate under Article 295 to protect national interest, including plans to bring in capital and expertise through equity ceding.

He urged the public to ignore the well-coordinated narratives by persons at VALCO to undermine government efforts to revive VALCO, stressing that such narratives are driven by parochial considerations and not the national or public interest.