Minister of Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovations Samuel George has revealed that MultiChoice Ghana, the operators of DStv, is involved in intense behind-the-scenes lobbying to pressure him into reversing his directive for a significant price reduction.
The minister’s firm stance threatens the company’s broadcasting license, which could be revoked if they fail to comply with the government’s demand.
The ultimatum, which requires DStv, with its headquarters in South Africa, to reduce its subscription rates by 30 per cent, was initially set for August 7 but was later extended to September 6, 2025.
The directive follows widespread public outcry and a government investigation into DStv’s pricing model, which the minister has repeatedly described as unfair to Ghanaian consumers.
Speaking on the Joy FM Super Morning Show, Mr. George disclosed that since his public warning, several intermediaries believed to be connected to DStv have approached members of government, attempting to soften his position.
He revealed attempts by MultiChoice to rope in the South African government to turn the matter into a foreign affairs issue.
The minister, however, remains unwavering, insisting that the government’s primary responsibility is to protect the interests of its citizens.
“Look, all the places they are walking around, getting the foreign minister of South Africa to call the Ghanaian foreign minister to call me. It’s not going to work…. Look, making it a foreign affairs issue and saying what? There are South African businesses. The biggest South African business in Ghana is MTN. Has MTN complained about this? When I dealt with MTN, MTN worked with me on everything,” he stated.
He continued, “When I made the case to MTN, I wanted more data for the Ghanaian people. They said, ‘Well, we have a challenge with the network. We want more spectrum. I yielded. I went to the cabinet and got cabinet approval and gave them more spectrum.”
The minister offered advice to businesses operating in Ghana.
“So, you work with your regulator in the interest of your customers and in the interest of your business. You don’t place your business interest as the only interest you have and ignore completely the consumer interest.”
The minister cited stark price disparities, noting that Ghanaians pay significantly more for the same premium packages offered in other African markets like Nigeria, even when accounting for currency fluctuations.
The minister painted a picture of a company unwilling to engage in good faith, citing several instances of what he termed “disrespect.”
He revealed that after he presented his case, MultiChoice responded not with a counter-offer but with a nine-page letter filled with economic forecasts.
“They wrote me a nine-page letter with six graphs and bar charts explaining to me the instability of Ghana’s economy and how our cedi appreciation cannot be trusted to be sustainable,” he recounted with disbelief.
Beyond pricing, Mr. George highlighted critical operational failures, chief among them being cross-border piracy.
He claimed that a staggering “40 to 45% of DStv devices in Ghana today are all devices from Nigeria”, a situation he says MultiChoice has failed to tackle.
This influx of Nigerian-registered devices, he argued, allows MultiChoice to collect revenue while the Ghanaian state loses out on tax, and it artificially suppresses Ghana’s official subscriber numbers, which the company then uses to justify its high prices.
“When you say you have a low subscription in Ghana, it’s because your prices are not uniform and have led to cross-border piracy on your platform,” he charged.
The minister cited regional precedents where regulators took a hard line, forcing MultiChoice to adjust its practices.
“In Malawi, in 2023, they just shut them down. MultiChoice went to court, lost the case, and four months later came back, offered one week free, and dropped the prices. In Liberia they slashed the premium package by $30. In Nigeria in 2024, the Nigerian House of Reps passed an instruction prohibiting the increases,” he detailed.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
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