Minister’s Demand for 30% DSTV Price Cut Just a Band-Aid Masking Deeper Market & Structural Failures

Despite the applause and the accolades the Minister for Communications, Samuel Nartey George, has received for demanding a 30% cut in DSTV subscriptions, a consumer protection advocate believes it is just a short-term fix, neglecting a more holistic and long-term solution.

Although subscribers over the years have expressed concern over the rate of price increment by the South African-owned company, the West African Regional Director of the Consumer Unity and Trust Society, CUTS International, Lawyer Appiah Kusi Adomako, maintains the situation exposes a deeper, more worrying issue.

He believes it is a testament to Ghana’s weak grip on market power and consumer protection.

The Intervention

After an upward adjustment in prices in March, the Ghana cedi, weeks later, appreciated significantly against the US dollar by nearly a third. Yet, DSTV’s subscription prices didn’t budge. No discounts. No adjustments. It was just silence from the pay-TV giant.

Acknowledging the concerns of Ghanaians on social media on July 4, 2025, the Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, intervened. He met with MultiChoice and boldly demanded a 30 percent price cut to reflect the strengthened cedi.

Many hailed the move, but not the CUTS International boss.  Appiah Kusi Adomako, although recognizing the move and acknowledging the good intentions, insisted that it is a classic case of putting a “plaster on a fracture.”

“While commendable, this intervention highlights the underlying issue of Ghana’s lack of a comprehensive competition law that would hold dominant firms accountable and ensure fair market conduct,” he said in an article copied to The High Street Journal.

When One Company Owns the Game—and the Referee

The economist further explains that DSTV’s dominance isn’t just about price hikes. It’s about control of content, particularly its exclusive rights to football blockbusters like the English Premier League and the UEFA Champions League.

No other player in Ghana’s pay-TV market, he says, can compete without access to those matches. The result? A bottleneck monopoly, where DSTV faces no real threat of competition and no real incentive to lower prices.

“From basic economics,” Adomako explains, “a firm with no competitive pressure has little incentive to reduce prices.” So, even though the cedi gained value and operational costs may have dropped, DSTV kept prices high, knowing consumers have nowhere else to turn.

 A System That Fails the Consumer

Appiah Kusi Adomako says the Minister’s call for a 30% price reduction might sound good, but it’s not a sustainable solution. In a truly competitive market, prices are set by supply, demand, and competition, not ministerial directives.

He warns that frequent political interventions have serious economic consequences. He reveals that such market interventions by political actors may even scare off investors, who view such ad-hoc actions as a sign of market instability. He says a more sustainable approach is to build a competitive environment that compels firms to lower prices and improve services voluntarily.

The Need for a Competition Law Now

The missing piece in all of this, the CUTS International boss says, is Ghana’s long-awaited Competition and Fair Trade Practices Bill, 2019.

The bill has been sitting in “legislative limbo” for nearly a decade. This bill, the consumer protection advocate says, would give regulators the power to stop price exploitation, break up monopolistic contracts, and protect consumers.

Other countries are already doing this. In Germany, regulators introduced a “no-single-buyer” rule to ensure no one broadcaster can control all football rights. That forced competition and lowered subscription prices. South Africa and the UK have taken similar steps.

But ironically, Ghana is still relying on press conferences and ministerial pleas.

The Impact

For the ordinary Ghanaian, this isn’t just policy talk. It’s about how much you pay to watch football, how few alternatives you have, and how little your complaints matter. It’s about being stuck in a system that favours companies, not consumers.

MultiChoice might argue that pricing decisions are made at the regional level, but that shouldn’t stop Ghana from demanding fairness at the local level through local laws.

For the CUTS Ghana boss, the Minister’s demand for a 30% price cut may win applause in the short term; however, unless Ghana finally passes its competition law, the country will continue to treat the symptoms, not the disease.

Read More