Hot SourceCommunications Minister Samuel Nartey George has launched a scathing critique of DStv Ghana, accusing the pay-TV provider of disregarding the economic realities of Ghanaians and proposing what he described as an illogical and exploitative pricing arrangement.
Reacting to a recent statement by MultiChoice Ghana, the operators of DStv, the Minister said the company’s posture confirms what he has long argued: that DStv does not take the Ghanaian consumer seriously. “I have read the release by DStv Ghana and taken full consideration that they vindicate my earlier position that they simply do not take the Ghanaian people serious enough,” he said.
Sam George drew a sharp comparison between the company’s actions in Ghana and its operations in Nigeria. “The same Group operating in Nigeria reversed price increases in Nigeria when the Nigerian authorities sued them. The Nigerian House of Representatives took the matter up and ordered a suspension of the increases. They complied,” he stated.
He questioned why the company, faced with a more favourable economic climate in Ghana earlier this year, still went ahead with price hikes. “This year, in April, at a time the Ghanaian cedi had seen a 10% appreciation against all major currencies, inflation had dropped by over 5% and fuel prices had also dropped, DStv announced and implemented a 15% increase,” the Minister pointed out.
In what could be a defining moment in the standoff, the Minister revealed that DStv had made a private proposal to him, which he flatly rejected. According to him, the company suggested he allow them to continue charging the current bouquet rates but prevent them from repatriating the revenue to their headquarters.
“I believe in the interest of transparency, I make public the alternate proposal that DStv offered to me that I flatly rejected. They proposed that I allow them maintain the collection of the exorbitant bouquet prices as they stand but order them not to send the revenue to their headquarters. In all honesty, that offer lacks any logic in my estimation,” he said.
George insisted that the goal of government intervention must be to deliver value and fairness to Ghanaians—not accounting acrobatics that still leave consumers overburdened. “The essence of my action is to see Ghanaians pay a fair price for the services offered. How does this proposal solve the real issue?”
Sam George warned that the era of foreign companies profiting excessively at the expense of Ghanaians is over. “For far too long, corporations have fleeced the Ghanaian people. There has been a RESET and it demands a new style of public service that is fiercely protective of the Ghanaian people.”
While expressing empathy for local staff of DStv who may be caught in the crossfire, George urged them to join in the national interest. “I remain empathetic to the Ghanaian staff of DStv but I believe that they should stand with the rest of us as we demand what is right for us.”
The Minister made his position clear: unless discussions are anchored on reducing the current pricing, there will be no meaningful engagement. “I remain open to constructive engagements that are centred on PRICE REDUCTION. Anything else is tangential and of no consequence.”
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