Ghana will establish a multi-agency working group to tackle the persistent piracy of DStv decoders trafficked from Nigeria, a practice the government says is depriving the state of millions in tax revenue and undermining the local creative industry.
Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, announced the initiative at a press briefing in Accra on Monday, citing the findings of a stakeholder committee reviewing DStv’s pricing and operations in Ghana.
“The committee considered the issue of cross-border piracy of DStv decoders from Nigeria into Ghana, which has for years deprived the state of tax revenue, transferred jobs from Ghana to Nigeria, denied unsuspecting customers good customer service, and is actively working towards the decline of Ghanaian local content creation space,” the Minister said.
To address the issue, the committee recommended the creation of a dedicated working group made up of representatives from the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, the National Communications Authority (NCA), the Cyber Security Authority, the Ghana Domain Name Registry, the National IT Agency, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Ghana Police Service, MultiChoice Africa, and MultiChoice Ghana.
“I will work with heads of the above agencies to establish the working group in due course to comprehensively tackle this issue of cross-border piracy,” Samuel George added.
The move points to growing regulatory scrutiny of Ghana’s pay-TV sector, where piracy of satellite decoders has long been a challenge. Beyond lost tax revenue, officials argue that piracy undermines customer protection and threatens jobs tied to local broadcasting and content creation.
The working group, if effectively coordinated, could help streamline enforcement, improve oversight at Ghana’s borders, and set a precedent for regional collaboration on digital rights protection.
