Minister for Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations, Hon. Samuel Nartey George, has issued a sharp rebuttal to Multichoice Ghana, stating that the company’s recent response to the ongoing standoff over DStv subscription fees only reinforces his view that “they do not take the Ghanaian people seriously enough.”
In a Facebook post on Monday, the minister responded to a statement released on Sunday by Multichoice—operators of DStv and GOtv—which described the minister’s stance on subscription pricing as “regrettable” and denied referring to the appreciation of the Ghana cedi as a “fluke.”
But Sam George was unmoved.
“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 seriously enough,” he said.
The minister also revealed what he described as a secret alternative proposal made by Multichoice, which he flatly rejected. According to him, the company suggested that it be allowed to maintain the current high bouquet prices while temporarily withholding revenue remittances to their headquarters.
“In all honesty, that offer lacks any logic in my estimation,” he wrote. “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?”
He described the move as a distraction that failed to address the core problem of unjustifiable pricing and insisted that only a tangible price reduction would suffice.
Sam George further questioned why the same Multichoice group reversed price hikes in Nigeria under pressure from regulators and lawmakers, yet refuses to make concessions in Ghana.
“The same group operating in Nigeria reversed price increases 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 wrote.
He contrasted this with the Ghanaian situation, pointing out that in April 2025, when Ghana had recorded a 10% appreciation in the cedi, a 5% drop in inflation, and falling fuel prices, DStv went ahead to implement a 15% price increase.
The minister’s post comes in the wake of MultiChoice Ghana’s Sunday statement signed by Managing Director Alex Okyere, in which the company denied referring to the cedi’s gains as a “fluke.” The company also reiterated that its pricing model was based on macroeconomic realities and content acquisition costs, not arbitrary decisions.
“MultiChoice values its subscribers and endeavours at all times to keep DStv subscription fees as low as possible,” the company stated. “We are open to further engagements with the National Communications Authority and the Minister.”
Multichoice warned that any shutdown of its operations in Ghana would negatively impact customers, staff, agents, contractors, and others within its ecosystem.
Despite the warning, Sam George said he remains committed to protecting Ghanaian consumers from what he sees as exploitative corporate behaviour.
“There has been a RESET, and it demands a new style of public service that is fiercely protective of the Ghanaian people,” he declared. “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 reiterated his August 7 deadline for Multichoice to reduce its fees or face the suspension of its broadcasting license.
He ended his post with a final word:
“I remain open to ‘constructive engagements’ that are centred on price reduction. Anything else is tangential and of no consequence.”
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