The Majority in Parliament has rallied behind the Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Hon. Samuel Nartey George, rejecting calls from the Minority caucus for his resignation over the ongoing DStv subscription pricing dispute.
At a press conference in Accra on Friday, October 3, members of the Majority on Parliament’s Communications Committee described the Minority’s demands as baseless and politically motivated. The controversy stems from the Minister’s push to secure reductions in DStv subscription costs, a matter that has triggered heated exchanges in both the legislature and the public domain.
The Minority had earlier accused Hon. George of misleading the public by failing to secure a promised 30 percent cut in subscription fees. According to them, the Minister’s announcement of upgraded DStv value packages amounted to repackaging of MultiChoice’s promotional offers rather than the substantive reductions he had pledged.
Addressing the press earlier for the Minority, Deputy Ranking Member on the Communications and Information Committee, Hon. Charles Asuako Owiredu, insisted that the Minister’s approach undermined the authority of regulators and eroded public trust.
Hon. Owiredu argued that the Minister’s posture represented “a display of ineptitude, incompetence and penchant for deceit.” He further stated that by acting unilaterally, Hon. George had denied statutory bodies such as the National Communications Authority (NCA) the opportunity to carry out their mandate.
The Minority caucus demanded that the Minister “render an unqualified apology to Ghanaians, refund fines imposed on DStv, and resign from office.” They warned that if he refused, President John Dramani Mahama should dismiss him for what they termed a betrayal of public trust.
Majority’s Defence
Responding to these claims, Tain MP and member of the Communications Committee, Hon. Sulemana Adama, dismissed the Minority’s calls as hypocritical and unfounded, citing some ills that plagued the erstwhile government’s administration.
“For the record, a whole President put his presidency on the line to fight galamsey. He failed, but he did not resign. A Minister of State once said he was not thinking right when procuring vaccines, yet he did not resign.
“The former Minister for Communication signed opaque bills like Smart Infraco and the rest, and she never resigned. Nobody called on her to resign”
Hon. Sulemana Adama, Tain MP and Member of the Communications Committee
Mr. Adama emphasised that it was unfair to target a minister who, in his view, had made significant progress in just eight months in office and urged Ghanaians to support the Minister’s efforts to secure fairer deals in the communications sector rather than join calls for his dismissal.
The Majority further disclosed that Parliament’s Communications Committee has been actively engaged with both MultiChoice Ghana and the ministry since the dispute arose. According to Hon. Adama, the committee had invited both parties to a dialogue to iron out differences and chart a sustainable path forward before both sides surprisingly came to an agreement.
Explaining the committee’s position as a rebuttal for the Minority’s presser, he clarified that parliamentary committees do not micromanage ministries, departments, and agencies. Instead, their oversight role was to step in when necessary to ensure accountability and balance.
“It is only when we see that there is a need, a deadlock, that’s when we come in. We offer oversight, and we think that it is the right time to offer that oversight,” Mr. Adama stated.
MultiChoice and the Value Packages
At the centre of the dispute are recent changes to DStv packages that critics initially dismissed as unrelated promotional offers. However, MultiChoice Ghana has since issued a statement clarifying that the adjustments were part of an agreement reached with the Communications Minister.
The company explained that while the new packages would run for an initial three months, the joint committee overseeing their rollout would reconvene to assess the impact and determine whether to maintain or expand the reductions.
MultiChoice also expressed regret over earlier communication errors in its Frequently Asked Questions publication, which had created confusion about the nature of the agreed adjustments as announced by Hon. George. The company reaffirmed its commitment to working with the government to balance consumer interests with the sustainability of its operations.
The Majority believes the controversy has been unnecessarily politicised, with the Minority seeking to score political points rather than acknowledge progress.
“We call on Ghanaians to disregard the call on the minister to resign and rally behind him in his attempt to look for better deals in the communications space,” Hon. Adama stressed, urging citizens to recognise the significance of the current reforms and the Minister’s willingness to confront a multinational company on behalf of consumers.
The debate over subscription fees comes amid broader concerns about affordability of services in Ghana’s digital space. For many households, pay-TV subscription costs remain a significant burden, and the government has faced pressure to intervene.
While differences remain over the pace and form of reforms, the Majority insists that Hon. George’s approach represents a step in the right direction. As the parliamentary committee prepares to host a joint dialogue with MultiChoice and the ministry, the outcome will be closely watched by consumers eager for lasting relief.
For now, the Majority has made clear that it sees no basis for resignation and will continue to back the Minister in his reform drive.
