The Professional and Management Staff Union (PMSU) of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) has dissociated itself from an ongoing demonstration against the government’s efforts to secure a strategic investor for the company, insisting that the protest does not represent the views of its members.

In a statement issued on Monday, July 27, 2026, and signed by Isaac Odor on behalf of PMSU-VALCO, the union said it had “no knowledge of, involvement in, or association with the demonstration currently being organised against the ongoing search for a strategic investor for the Company.”

According to the union, which represents Assistant Managers, Managers and Area Managers at VALCO, it was neither consulted nor informed before the protest was planned.

“We were not consulted, informed, or engaged in any form prior to the planning or announcement of this action. Whatever position is being advanced through this demonstration, it is not the position of the professional and management staff of VALCO, and it must not be represented to the public, to Government, or to prospective investors as such,” the statement said.

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The union reaffirmed its support for the government’s efforts to attract a strategic investor, arguing that the aluminium smelter requires substantial capital investment to return to competitive production.

“We state unequivocally that VALCO needs a strategic investor,” PMSU-VALCO stressed, adding that the search for an investor had been ongoing for more than five years while the condition of the plant had continued to deteriorate.

It maintained that the company requires significant funding to rebuild its facilities, restore production capacity, and secure reliable power and raw material supplies.

“This is capital that cannot be generated internally,” the statement noted.

PMSU-VALCO also backed the government’s position on the matter and urged authorities to conclude the investor search without further delay.

The union, however, rejected claims that about $60 million would be enough to restore the smelter to efficient operation.

“As the engineers, maintenance professionals and operations personnel who work on this plant every day, we reject that figure,” it stated.

According to PMSU-VALCO, much of the company’s infrastructure has become obsolete, making refurbishment insufficient to restore efficient operations.

“Our assessment, grounded in direct working knowledge of the asset base, is that the requirement is of the order of $700 million or more. That is not a marginal difference of opinion. It is a difference of more than a factor of ten,” the statement said.

The union argued that investing only $60 million would provide temporary relief without addressing the company’s long-term operational challenges.

“A $60 million intervention would not make VALCO efficient. It would consume public funds, deliver a short reprieve, and return the Company to the same position,” it added.

PMSU-VALCO further urged the government to publish the technical and financial basis for the $60 million estimate to allow for independent scrutiny.

It also called for all competing proposals for the company’s revival to be subjected to transparent engineering and financial evaluation.

The union appealed to the media and the public to note that the ongoing demonstration does not reflect the position of VALCO’s professional and management staff.

It further cautioned that protests against the investor search could send the wrong signal to potential investors at a time when the company is seeking capital to revive its operations.

“PMSU-VALCO remains committed to this Company, to its workforce, and to the revival of Ghana’s aluminium industry. We believe that revival requires serious capital and a serious partner, and we will continue to say so publicly,” the statement concluded.

ANAS/MA

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