ELS: MBN360 NEWS
The Minority Caucus in Parliament has cautioned against what it describes as the growing risk of “state capture” in the management of the Volta Aluminium Company Limited (VALCO), warning that the future of the strategic state-owned enterprise must not be determined through opaque processes.
In a statement signed by the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Select Committee on Lands and Natural Resources, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, the Caucus alleged that recent developments surrounding VALCO raise serious governance and transparency concerns.
According to the Minority, public confidence is threatened whenever institutions responsible for policy formulation, regulation, approvals and the management of strategic national assets appear to be influenced by individuals with previous professional links to the same business interests.
“This is the very definition of the conditions under which state capture flourishes. The burden is therefore on the Government, not the Ghanaian people, to demonstrate that every decision concerning VALCO is free from influence, favouritism and predetermined outcomes,” the statement said.
The Caucus maintained that VALCO remains central to Ghana’s integrated aluminium industry and broader industrialisation agenda, insisting that any decision affecting its ownership or management must be transparent and subject to public scrutiny.
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“VALCO belongs to the people of Ghana,” the statement stressed.
The Minority argued that the company’s future “cannot be negotiated behind closed doors,” adding that its ownership “cannot be altered through secrecy” or determined without the knowledge of the Ghanaian people.
The Caucus further warned that it would oppose any attempt to restructure or transfer interests in the company without full public disclosure.
“The Minority will not sit by while another strategic national asset is quietly placed on the altar of politically connected interests. We shall deploy every constitutional, legal and parliamentary mechanism available to ensure that VALCO remains protected from opaque transactions, institutional capture and the resurrection of the notorious ‘Create, Loot and Share’ culture,” the statement declared.
The statement concluded by urging the government to provide full disclosure on the proposed equity capitalization process, insisting that transparency and accountability are essential in safeguarding Ghana’s strategic national assets.
