The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA), Prof. Ransford Gyampo, has called on the government to step up its public communications effort as Ghana navigates the economic fallout of the ongoing Middle East conflict, while also mounting a firm response to what he described as political propaganda exploiting the crisis.
Speaking on TV3’s KeyPoints programme on Saturday, April 4, 2026, Prof. Gyampo argued that transparent communication with citizens is not optional in a crisis of this scale but a fundamental obligation of good governance.
“As far as I am concerned, it is part of good governance to explain this properly to the people, the owners of power. If you are governing a country and you have goodwill and the people know you are doing the right thing, there is a way to bring them on board, especially when you are going through difficulty,” he said, adding that a government that communicates well can earn public support even during hardship.
Prof. Gyampo drew a contrast between Ghana’s current economic footing and the conditions that prevailed when the Russia-Ukraine conflict drove global commodity prices higher. He said the country enters this crisis from a stronger position and that the impact of the Middle East war is a shared global burden, not a problem unique to Ghana.
Warning on Propaganda
Beyond public education, Prof. Gyampo called for an assertive campaign against what he characterised as deliberate misinformation by political opponents. He warned that some actors in Ghana’s political space would seek to weaponise the crisis to gain electoral advantage, and said that effort had to be challenged directly.
“We must mount a spirited and forceful defence against propaganda. There are some people in the body politic who would want to exploit this to their advantage. Some people actually want the nation to fail as a condition for their quest to annex political power,” he said.
He expressed confidence that the government would move to cushion Ghanaians from the worst effects of rising fuel and commodity prices linked to the Strait of Hormuz disruptions, arguing that a government with a strong governance record would not remain passive in the face of public hardship.
Prof. Gyampo’s comments come as pressure mounts on the Mahama administration to articulate a clear policy response to rising pump prices. The GSA has already been active in responding to the commercial dimensions of the crisis, investigating reports that some international shipping lines imposed war risk surcharges on cargo bound for Ghana before hostilities escalated on February 28, 2026, and warning importers to prepare for higher freight costs and supply chain disruptions.
His call for a unified public communication strategy aligns with a broader argument gaining traction among commentators that Ghana’s response to the crisis will be judged as much on narrative management as on specific policy interventions.
