VALCO crucial to our industry - Aluworks MD

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• Concerned 10 years ago

  if you ACTUALLY read the World Bank report, it says Ghana cannot continue to subsidize power for VALCO. The report said doing so would only increase tarrifs for everyone else (yes, you the common man, and business), or would ...
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  if you ACTUALLY read the World Bank report, it says Ghana cannot continue to subsidize power for VALCO. The report said doing so would only increase tarrifs for everyone else (yes, you the common man, and business), or would result in the bulk power distributors (VRA,etc) running into serious problems as the gov't currently doesn't even pay them the arrears. The report says this situation will only get worse the longer things go on THE WAY THEY ARE NOW.
  
  The report says a simple solution would be to shut down VALCO OR end the subsidies to VALCO. The report actually gives a roadmap for keeping it open, but in Ghana it seems we want to have our cake and eat it.
  
  If Gov't truly believes in industrial growth, then why have they neglected it for so long. Even breweries can't get water to produce, cannery had to shut down for the same reason. Company after company is suffering and closing because of the lack of attention in good power supply, water. Businesses that get raw materials from abroad can't get credit anymore since gov't borrowing makes Ghana look like a risky investment. After all this, the World Bank produces a report that can actually help us get out of this mess, and EVERYONE dismisses it.
  
  As "crucial" as VALCO is to Ghana's industrial base, wasn't this same facility close between 2003 and 2006.. didn't it again stop operations between 2009 and 2011. Did we see a rapture during this time.. did the country's industry completely collapse. Granted, i'm sure there was plenty of hardship from these, but the REALITY IS WE CAN'T AFFORD TO KEEP VALCO RUNNING IN THE CURRENT SITUATION.
  
  I say gov't needs to get serious and stop this propaganda about jobs and our industrial base. Our economy IS in a bad place, and all they seem to do is go back and forth with NPP about whose fault it is or if time were worse then. VALCO has to shut down, fix Wieja filters/water shortage, get regular power going, fix all the bad loans/judgement debt, find ways to stop excessive spending - sell all those new ministerial cars and houses if need be
  
  World bank assertion said "
  The World Bank has said that in the current context of load-shedding, it would be economically prudent decision for Government of Ghana to shut down the Volta Aluminum Company (VALCO), the state-owned aluminium smelter, and provide the power to other consumer segments that pay tariffs closer to the true cost of supply. "
  
  Report goes on to say "
  If, on the other hand, Government decides to keep VALCO, electricity consumers should not be expected to bear the additional cost-burden of the VALCO subsidy, the bank said in a new energy sector report."

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• KALUSH 10 years ago

  DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY STATE COMPANIES THESE PEOPLE HELPED TO SHUT DOWN OR PRIVATISED? WHAT DID WE SEE AFTER ALL THE PRIVATISATION AND THE LAYING OFF OF WORKERS? NONSENSE,,THEY COME TO GHANA TELLING US TO STOP SUBSIDIES BUT GO ...
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  DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY STATE COMPANIES THESE PEOPLE HELPED TO SHUT DOWN OR PRIVATISED? WHAT DID WE SEE AFTER ALL THE PRIVATISATION AND THE LAYING OFF OF WORKERS? NONSENSE,,THEY COME TO GHANA TELLING US TO STOP SUBSIDIES BUT GO TO THEY COUNTRIES SEE THE HEAVY SUBSIDIES BEEN GIVING TO THE LOCAL FAMERS N COMPANIES

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• MENSAH 10 years ago

  VALCO should be shut down,period.
  GHANA has subsidized on VALCO'S OPERATION for so long.WE ARE TIRED NOW:
  Either they support themselves or be gone.

  VALCO should be shut down,period.
  GHANA has subsidized on VALCO'S OPERATION for so long.WE ARE TIRED NOW:
  Either they support themselves or be gone.

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• KALUSH 10 years ago

  VALCO TO FUNCTION FULLY BY JOINING FORCES WITH ALL THE ALUMINIUM COMPANIES IN GHANA TO HELP PAY SOME OF ITS BILLS AND OTHER PROBLEMS.

  VALCO TO FUNCTION FULLY BY JOINING FORCES WITH ALL THE ALUMINIUM COMPANIES IN GHANA TO HELP PAY SOME OF ITS BILLS AND OTHER PROBLEMS.

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• KALUSH 10 years ago

  THEIR COMPANIES AFTER MANY YRS OF RECCESSION? WHEN IT COMES TO AFRICA THEY ARE QUICK TO TELL US TO SACK WORKERS,CLOSE DOWN FACTORIES PRIVATISE STATE OWN COMPANIES

  THEIR COMPANIES AFTER MANY YRS OF RECCESSION? WHEN IT COMES TO AFRICA THEY ARE QUICK TO TELL US TO SACK WORKERS,CLOSE DOWN FACTORIES PRIVATISE STATE OWN COMPANIES

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• KWAME 10 years ago

  We should be careful on the prescriptions of the World Bank and the IMF. Implementing their prescriptions also create problems in other sectors in the economy. In the nineties these organisations advised for sweeping retrench ...
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  We should be careful on the prescriptions of the World Bank and the IMF. Implementing their prescriptions also create problems in other sectors in the economy. In the nineties these organisations advised for sweeping retrenchments in the public sector which was religiously followed by our government. Today we dont know how to deal with the massive unemployment situations in the country.
  If we are not generating adequate power to move move our industries, it is more prudent to find the resources to increase the capacity of that sector instead of creating aaddition unemployment by closing down Valco.
  This country boast of intellectuals but we always wait for these external institutions who dont know the exact conditions on the ground except the doctored statistics which are presented to them by our governments, to recomend remedies to our problem. The ''chew and pour'' has not been helping us but we cant move away from this system of education.
  Ghana needs a paradigm shift headed by new generation of thinkers. Things are getting worse; housing, education, transportation, health,unstable economy and host of them but we pretend they are not because those leading us and the elites are using their state of condition to measure the rest of the society.

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• Concerned 10 years ago

  Well stated Kwame. I agree with your assertion that we should spearhead our own "for the better of Ghana" ideas instead of only listening to the IMF/World bank.
  
  The thing is, if we blindly follow the - "let's ignore everyt ...
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  Well stated Kwame. I agree with your assertion that we should spearhead our own "for the better of Ghana" ideas instead of only listening to the IMF/World bank.
  
  The thing is, if we blindly follow the - "let's ignore everything the IMF/World Bank says because they are not us" we will end up ignoring both the good and bad ideas. This particular recommendation makes practical sense in terms of cost of resources.
  
  Specifically subsidies on VALCO cost Ghana US$150million for a company with only 600 employees. This shortfall isn't even made up by Aluworks which has sales of US$50million, and this is essentially the largest player in that industry after VALCO - point is just in terms of cost, we're seeing a net loss for the economy. As far as resources go, the whooping 6% (not sure about this figure). If that power was redirected to business and residential use, businesses that are actually profitable for the economy wouldn't have equipment failing on account of power failures.
  
  Finally, if we consider the impact of VALCO closing, what will it mean to Ghana and Aluworks. Well, in the last 10 years, VALCO has been inactive for the last 6 - these same industries have somehow managed to survive, so really what great calamity will befall Ghana if we close VALCO again - even if its temporarily until we have the power capacity and money to support it
  
  Kwame, this is my locally bred intellectual argument for closing VALCO. I'm not saying it is the right course, but so far no one else has provided a substantive argument for keeping these subsidies and facility running. Saying we can't blindly listen to the World Bank/IMF, and espousing a Ghana bred solution without actual factual solutions just doesn't cut it anymore as a good argument for keeping VALCO going.

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• ANOTHER AFRICAN PATRIOT 10 years ago

  The World Bank and their friends including the Chinese don't have anything good for us.They are always playing "smart" against us and seeking our downfall to perpetuate our dependency on them. Until we learn to "outsmarting" ...
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  The World Bank and their friends including the Chinese don't have anything good for us.They are always playing "smart" against us and seeking our downfall to perpetuate our dependency on them. Until we learn to "outsmarting" them thru ECOWAS and the AU by trading among ourselves Ghana and Africa will continue to languish in poverty.

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