Economist and policy analyst, Dr. Theo Acheampong, has criticised MultiChoice Ghana’s justification for its DSTV subscription pricing, describing their defense as “weak” and out of step with economic realities and consumer fairness.
The economist’s response comes after MultiChoice Ghana defended its DSTV pricing structure, arguing that the company faces higher operational costs in Ghana due to taxes, levies, and difficult macroeconomic conditions.
But Dr. Acheampong is not taking any of their justifications. In a reaction, he dismissed these justifications as lacking substance and called for greater transparency, accountability, and consumer protection.
At the heart of his critique is a demand for greater transparency from MultiChoice Ghana regarding its cost structure.
“This defense from MultiChoice Ghana is WEAK. They should address the real issues: What is their true cost base for similar packages, excluding taxes and other regulatory charges in Ghana, vis-a-vis other markets like Nigeria, SA, Liberia?” he demanded.
Dr. Acheampong argues that unless MultiChoice can provide a clear comparative breakdown of operational costs across its African markets, its pricing structure in Ghana remains open to suspicion.
He believes the company’s use of taxation and currency depreciation as blanket justifications conveniently obscures more fundamental issues around pricing strategy and market dominance.
He also challenged the timing and rationale behind DSTV’s pricing, noting that in 2023, the company cited sharp currency depreciation to justify a nearly 20% price increase. However, with recent exchange rate stability and modest improvements in Ghana’s macroeconomic fundamentals, he argues the same logic should apply in reverse.
“Ghana’s macroeconomic environment has improved with a moderately stable cedi, so this should be reflected in cost reductions passed on to the consumer, especially when they used similar exchange rate pressures to justify an almost 20% increment in 2023,” he insisted.
Acheampong’s argument taps into growing public sentiment that businesses operating in Ghana tend to raise prices quickly during crises, but are reluctant to reverse or reduce them when conditions improve.
Dr. Acheampong further emphasized that the DSTV saga underscores the urgent need for an Independent Consumer Protection Authority, one that is grounded in regulatory economics and empowered to monitor and interrogate such pricing mechanisms.
Currently, Ghana lacks an independent statutory consumer protection body. Oversight is fragmented across various institutions, including the Ministry of Trade, the NCA, and the Ghana Standards Authority.
This institutional gap, Dr. Acheampong argues, allows dominant players like MultiChoice to operate with limited scrutiny on pricing fairness, particularly in markets with little or no competition.
His comments reinforce calls from civil society and advocacy groups like CUTS International, which have long demanded legislative backing for a competition and consumer protection law to regulate monopolistic and oligopolistic behavior in key sectors like pay-TV, telecoms, and energy.
