The West African Regional Director of CUTS International, Appiah Kusi Adomako, has strongly criticised pay-TV operator MultiChoice Ghana for what he describes as the company’s continued unfair treatment of Ghanaian consumers.
His remarks come amid a growing standoff between Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George and MultiChoice Ghana. The Minister has issued an ultimatum to the pay-TV provider, demanding a reduction in DStv subscription fees by August 7 or face suspension of its broadcasting licence.
Speaking on Channel One Newsroom on Sunday, August 3, Adomako expressed support for the Minister’s concerns about pricing but warned that the issue goes beyond cost.
“MultiChoice has not demonstrated good faith to Ghanaians,” he said. “When you are a subscriber to the MultiChoice service and experience a network problem that cannot be resolved remotely, they refer you to a third-party agent. Once the agent visits, the customer is expected to pay them — and that is very wrong.”
Adomako stressed that this practice violates the fundamental consumer protection principle of “benefit and burden,” which stipulates that service providers who receive payment must also bear the cost of service maintenance.
He further argued that the situation is exacerbated by the monopolistic dominance of MultiChoice in Ghana’s pay-TV market. Adomako called for the implementation of stronger consumer protection and competition laws to hold companies accountable and to ensure fair treatment of consumers.
“Without real competition and proper regulation, companies will continue to take advantage of their market position to the detriment of consumers,” he concluded.
“In law, we have what we call the ‘benefit and burden’ principle. He who enjoys the benefit must also enjoy the burden. I pay a monthly subscription to you, so if there is a problem, you should be paying whoever comes, not me, the subscriber.
“And all of these things are happening because of the monopoly and the dominance that is in this market. In the short to medium terms, we should get our consumer protection laws and competition laws in place so that some of these things can be curtailed,” he stated.
While he cautioned against the August 7 ultimatum on grounds that it could discourage foreign investment, Adomako stressed the importance of building a more competitive and accountable pay-TV market that puts the interests of Ghanaian consumers first.
