President Akufo-Addo has charged the board of directors of the newly instituted Ghana Integrated Alu minium Development Corporation (GIADC) to ensure that a vibrant aluminium industry is established in the country.
He noted that as the metal of the future, bauxite, the mainstay of the aluminium industry, was replete in Ghana and it was time the country made a concerted effort not only to bring the raw materials into play, but to establish the full value chain of the product so that the nation could have a vibrant aluminium industry.
According to him, since the formation of the GIADC on his assumption of office, the leadership of the corporation had been working tirelessly with transaction advisors and other stakeholders to ensure the objective of achieving an integrated aluminium industry is executed in a timely manner.
Addressing the board of directors of the corporation at the Jubilee House after administering the Official Oath and the Oath of Secrecy to them at their swearing-in ceremony, he was confident that the considerable abilities of the members of the GIADC board would help realise the objectives of the corporation.
“Much of the future success of our nation is bound up with your work,” he told the board, adding that though the task ahead was a challenging one, he was hopeful that they would be up to it.
President Akufo-Addo said the journey to create an aluminium industry in Ghana, began in 1948, through the establishment of the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO).
Kaiser Aluminium made an investment, together with the government of our first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, in 1961, resulting in the building of the Akosombo Dam.
President Akufo-Addo observed that, “It was intended that Kaiser, subsequent to the construction of the dam, will exploit the country’s bauxite resources to serve as feedstock for smelters at VALCO. Unfortunately, this never happened.
“To this end, we cannot, in the modern era, stumble twice on our journey of giving value to our significant natural resources of bauxite and thereby accelerating our industrial development and transformation.”
He stated that Ghana had, since its journey to create an aluminium industry in 1948, not been able to fully operate the entire value chain of the industry and had only mined and exported some of the bauxite in its raw form.
He indicated that much of the future success of the nation is bound up with your work. “I am aware that the task ahead of you is a challenging one, and it is my expectation and hope that you will be up to it.”
President Akufo-Addo was emphatic that Ghana “cannot, in the modern era, stumble twice on our journey of giving value to our significant natural resources or bauxite, and, thereby, accelerating our industrial development and transformation.”
Synohydro deal
He explained that Ghana’s obligation under the $2 billion Sinohydro barter deal required that Ghana supplied China with aluminium as payment for the $2 billion worth of infrastructural projects it would undertake in the country.
“With the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation, headed by the astute solid Ghanaian professionals with reputable international credentials and a board composed of some diverse, experienced and well-grounded personalities, I am confident that the corporation will enjoy the benefits of your considerable abilities in the discharge of its duties in helping realise the objectives of the corporation,” he said.
Dr Oteng Gyasi, chairman of the board, thanked the President for the opportunity given the board to serve the country and also for the confidence reposed in the members.
“We know your dream; we know your vision; and we know what intentions you have for the industrialisation of our country,” he said, assuring that they would do their utmost best to realise the mandate given them in a timely manner to maximise the benefits that the nation stood to gain from Ghana’s rich bauxite deposits.
Members of the board
The 11-member board, chaired by Dr Tony Oteng Gyasi, and industrialist, includes Mr Addae Antwi-Bosiako, a representative of the Minerals Commission; Mr Humphrey Ayim Darke, representing the Association of Ghana Industries; Mr Michael Ansah, Chief Executive Officer of the GIADC; and Dr Henry Benyah.
The others are Dr Benjamin Ofosu Addo, a representative of the Integrated Aluminium Industry; Patrick Bogyako-Siaime, Member of Parliament for Amenfi East; Nana Dokuaa, the Okyehemaa; Benito Owusu Bio, representative of Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources; Mrs Abena Osei Asare, a representative of the Ministry of Finance; and Nana Amampene Boateng Twum Il, chief of Nyinahini.
Formation of GIADC
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on August 30, 2018 assented to the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Corporation Act, 2018, marking the final stage of the legislation.
With the act in place, the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation is expected to promote and develop an integrated aluminium industry, as well as provide for related matters.
Following the intention of government to set up an integrated bauxite and aluminium industry in Ghana, a bill was forwarded to Parliament to consider the establishment of an Integrated Bauxite and Aluminium Corporation which will set the legal framework for the regulation of the industry.
The coming into being of the act meant that government realised the need to take opportunity of the vast bauxite resources available to help in the economic development of the country.
Source: The Finder
