The row between Communications Minister Sam Nartey Goerge and MultiChoice Ghana, operators of DSTV and GOtv has turn rather more interesting turn as MultiChoice has been slapped with GHC10,000 daily by government through ministry.
Government through Ministry led by the Sam George on has been on the run trying to negotiate a DSTV price reduction of subscription fees with the company for sometime now but to no avail.
According to our source, Sector Minister announced the decision of imposing a statutory fine of GHC10,000 per day on MultiChoice Ghana (DStv) for failing to submit critical pricing data requested under the Electronic Communications Act (ECA) during a meeting with the DStv team at the Ministry on Thursday, August 14.
The penalty took effect on Friday, August 15, 2025.
In an earlier interview on August 12, 2025 JoyNews, Sam George said he made a request for 30% price reduction in subscriptions fees or he was going to trigger the suspension
“I had made a request for 30%. If they did not do that. I was going to trigger the suspension. 30% or nothing less. That’s my ask. 30%. And there’s a reason behind a 30%. Some people have said. Why don’t you do 10%. 15%. In April this year. Multi-choice. Increased their prices by 15%. In April this year. At that time. The city had appreciated. By about 10%. Against the dollar. What was the reason for multi-choices. Increases over the last eight years. Depreciation of the city.” he said
“High interest rates. Instability of the currency. As of April this year. That they did a 15% increase. We had stability of the currency. And appreciation of the currency. We had dropping inflation rates. The macroeconomic indicators were looking better. So there was absolutely no justification for that 15%. So I’m reversing that 15%. And then demanding a further 15%. For the Ghanaian people.” he added
Meanwhile in Malawi in 2023, the government shut down MultiChoice operations over “exorbitant” prices. The company’s court challenge failed, and four months later it returned, offering one week free to all subscribers and reducing prices. That same year in Liberia, public pressure led to premium package fees being cut by $30 and lower packages by $17. In Nigeria in 2024, the Consumer Protection Agency and the House of Representatives blocked a planned price increase after winning a court case against the pay-TV provider.
The minister stressed that his allegiance is to Ghanaians, not corporate interests, and criticized MultiChoice for ignoring critical concerns such as cross-border piracy. He pointed to similar enforcement actions against Starlink, where devices imported from other African countries were barred from operating in Ghana to protect state revenue streams.
He dismissed comparisons between Ghana’s and Nigeria’s markets, noting that while Nigeria may be larger, the government’s priority is safeguarding local consumers.