VRA Strike Against Mahama

Staff of the Volta River Authority (VRA) have insisted they are still protesting the Power Ministry’s plans to cede the Aboadze T3 plant to AMERI.

The Deputy Power Minister, after engaging the disgruntled VRA staff on Thursday, revealed to the media that the staff had indefinitely postponed their planned strike action ahead of another meeting on August 2015.

But the leadership of the staff in a letter sighted by Citi News urged its workers to disregard remarks made by Mr. Jinapor.

“We urge all VRA staff to disregard the conflicting messages as to the suspension of our legitimate actions aimed at bringing to the attention of the good people of Ghana the overt and covert action of the perpetrators [Power Ministry].”

“We further wish to reiterate our collective resolve to the salvage the assets of the Volta River Authority that the perpetrators are bent on dissipating.”
The letter to the staff also explained that the negotiations with the Power Ministry have been postponed to August 15, 2016 to allow the VRA division of the Power Sector Workers Union (PSWU) to participate in an upcoming TUC congress in Kumasi.

What the Power Minster said

Deputy Power Minister, John Jinapor, told the media after meeting with the staff unions of VRA, that the strike had been called off due to plans of a scheduled meeting on 15th August with key stakeholders to address the concerns raised.

“There will not be any strike. On the 15th of this month [August], we shall have a meeting here. The Ministry of Finance will be a part of it, the Board of VRA will be part of it as well as the Energy Commission and some other stakeholders,” he said.

Mr. Jinapor also explained that the Power Ministry ultimately planned to return the T3 plant back to the VRA.

“Our objective is to strategically position VRA. Our objective is to invest in VRA and get the private sector to partner with them. We are not giving out the T3 plant. We took some decisions to bring in a strategic partner. Ultimately we intend sending the T3 plant to VRA but we haven’t made that decision yet.”

Background

The rift with the Power Ministry came to light when a letter sighted by Citi News conveyed the discontent of VRA staff with moves by the Ministry to cede the T3 plant in the Aboadze thermal enclave, MRP at the Tema Thermal Power station and a parcel of land at the Kpone Thermal Power Station to external parties.

They further served notice they will protest against the Ministry of Power over what they called the interference of the Ministry in the affairs of the authority.

The letter, addressed to the Chief Executive of the VRA, explained that the staff “resolved to utilize all available lawful means to resist the perpetration of unwarranted dissipation of the Authority’s assets.”
The staff asserted that the listed entities “are a clear crucial to the sustenance of the Volta River Authority as a major player in the energy sector in Ghana and the West Africa Sub-region.”

ACEP’s defence of the VRA

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) sided with the VRA staff warning that the decision to cede the Aboadze T3 Plant to AMERI will weaken the VRA in the power sector.

ACEP argued that such a move could “injure the strategic role the Volta River Authority (VRA) is playing in ensuring our energy balance is not compromised.”

ACEP in a statement (which can be viewed here) stated that the ceding of the T3 plant in particular would create the “impression that the decision is targeted at clouding VRA out of the western enclave for eventual takeover by private business concerns with vested interest to use Ghana Gas as their main source of generation.”