Ghana’s state-owned newspaper, the Daily Graphic, has quoted the country’s minister of communication, digital technology innovation Samuel Nartey George, and saying that MultiChoice must immediately cut its DStv fees by 30 per cent.Failure will mean MultiChoice could lose its transmission licence. The Ministry will start proceedings against MultiChoice arguing that consumers “have been cheated for years, and it is time we put an end to that”.DStv’s 15 per cent price rise in April was unwarranted at a time that the local currency (the Cedi) was appreciating in value, the newspaper cited Minister George as saying. The Minister said he had instructed the National Communications Authority (NCA), the industry regulator, to begin suspension proceedings against MultiChoice Ghana.MultiChoice had formally proposed during negotiations to maintain current subscription fees while suspending the repatriation of revenues to its Johannesburg headquarters, but the Minister turned the option down, said the newspaper.The Ghanaian Cedi has appreciated 40 per cent against the dollar this year.The Ministry says that the cost of DStv’s premium bouquet costs the equivalent of $83 in Ghana, but only $29 in nearby Nigeria.MultiChoice Ghana, a subsidiary of South Africa’s MultiChoice Group, in a statement dismissed the Ghanaian Government’s demand as “not tenable”.
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