The Ghanaian government has issued an ultimatum to satellite broadcaster DStv to reduce its subscription fees by Thursday, August 7, or face suspension of its broadcasting licence.
Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George said the National Communications Authority has been instructed to begin suspension proceedings against MultiChoice Ghana, the local operator of DStv, if the company fails to comply.
The standoff follows DStv’s rejection of a proposed 30% fee reduction, which the minister insists is necessary to protect Ghanaians from long-standing pricing practices he deemed exploitative.
MultiChoice Ghana has dismissed the government’s demand as unreasonable, arguing that current economic pressures and service quality requirements make price cuts unsustainable.
Managing Director Alex Okyere warned that forced reductions could lead to job losses and limit consumer options.
The company offered to maintain current rates while suspending revenue remittances to its headquarters, a proposal Minister George rejected as illogical.
He further questioned why the company complied with a court order to freeze prices in Nigeria but resisted similar action in Ghana.
