The Bank of Ghana’s (BoG) latest directive on foreign exchange transparency for shipping and port service providers has drawn praise from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Shippers Authority, Professor Ransford Gyampo, who says it marks a significant shift in protecting Ghanaian shippers from arbitrary forex practices.
The new directive compels all shipping lines, terminal operators, freight forwarders, and related entities to publicly display their daily exchange rates used for billing. These rates must be accessible either on their websites or physically at their premises.
Additionally, the applicable rate must be disclosed to customers before an invoice is issued. Per the new policy, all invoices must now include the billing currency, the exact exchange rate applied, the date the rate was set, and the total payable sum in either cedis or dollars.
The Bank of Ghana says the policy aims to increase consistency and prevent manipulation in the pricing of services across Ghana’s ports.
According to the Ghana Shippers Authority, the directive follows internal research and a formal petition submitted to the central bank, which highlighted concerns over exchange rate abuses by some shipping entities.
Prof. Gyampo, who took office in January 2025, led the campaign for policy clarity after uncovering significant irregularities in port billing systems.
“Through constant follow-ups, [on] July 22, BoG issued a policy directive, and I’m told a lot of the shippers are excited and happy about it”
Professor Ransford Gyampo, CEO of the Ghana Shippers Authority
He criticised the long-standing practice of shipping companies using inflated exchange rates – often determined by commercial banks instead of the Bank of Ghana’s reference rate – to compute charges, a situation that he said “unfairly burdened local businesses and threatened national economic stability.”
He further noted that such actions worked against ongoing efforts by President John Dramani Mahama’s administration to stabilise the Ghanaian cedi. The Shippers Authority pledged to enforce compliance and ensure the new rules are implemented across the country’s ports and shipping hubs.
“We agreed that, given what had happened, BoG had to issue a policy directive to explain or direct what must be done and what must not be done”
Professor Ransford Gyampo, CEO of the Ghana Shippers Authority
Akufo-Addo’s Government Was The Worst
Prof. Gyampo did not stop at policy commentary. He also waded into the broader political conversation, declaring former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s administration as the worst in Ghana’s Fourth Republic.
Prof. Gyampo, who has built a reputation for his blunt political assessments, emphasised that his opinions stem from performance rather than partisanship. While asserting that he has voted for both the NPP and the NDC since 1992, he described the Akufo-Addo presidency as a “colossal disappointment.”
“In the lead-up to the 2024 elections, I felt he had done worse than all the governments – and that is my view,” Gyampo said.
The former political science lecturer said he initially supported former President John Dramani Mahama but joined public discontent in the run-up to the 2016 elections that saw Mahama lose office. Expectations were high for Akufo-Addo, but according to Gyampo, that hope quickly dissipated. “By 2020, they had lost it.”
In response to questions about his political leanings following his January 2025 appointment by President Mahama, Prof. Gyampo was categorical that he had never aligned himself permanently with any political party.
He stressed that his critiques over the years – whether of Mahama, Kufuor, Mills, or Akufo-Addo – have been rooted in principle. He said he supported former President Rawlings during his time, campaigned for Kufuor, admired the late Atta Mills, and became “a loud critic” of President Mahama during his first term.
While his appointment may raise eyebrows among partisan observers, Gyampo insisted he brings an independent mindset to his leadership at the Shippers Authority and will continue to push for institutional reforms, especially where economic fairness is concerned.
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