A senior policy lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Akpeko Agbevade, has called on the government to strictly enforce national regulations amid the ongoing dispute between MultiChoice Ghana and the National Communications Authority (NCA) over service pricing.
Speaking in an interview, Dr. Agbevade stressed the state’s responsibility to create an enabling environment for businesses to operate while protecting consumers from exploitative practices.
“The government must create an enabling environment for the market forces to operate,” he said, adding that Ghana already has the regulatory frameworks to guide private enterprises. However, he warned that the country is “gradually becoming a lawless state, with private businesses seeking to maximise abnormal profit”.
Weighing in on the standoff between the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations and MultiChoice, Dr Agbevade noted that while Ghana’s free market economy does not allow the state to set prices, the government has a duty to shield consumers from predatory enterprises. He urged private capital owners to be “ready to comply with national regulations”.
The dispute follows recent comments by Communications and Digitalisation Minister Samuel Nartey George, who accused MultiChoice of charging “unfair and unreasonable” prices for DStv bouquets. Citing taxation levels, currency depreciation and market size, he called for a 30 percent reduction in prices.
MultiChoice rejected the proposal, stating it was “not tenable” to implement such a reduction. In response, the NCA — acting under the Minister’s guidance — served the broadcaster with a notice of suspension, arguing its pricing model was “inimical to the public interest”. The company has been given 30 days to comply with the regulator’s directive or face suspension from the Ghanaian market.
