President of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has criticised the Minister of Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, over his handling of the DStv pricing, calling it an unnecessary fight that exposed poor policy judgment and misplaced priorities.
His remarks follow recent confusion sparked by a contradictory FAQ on MultiChoice Ghana’s website, which suggested that the new value upgrades would last only three months—despite government assurances that the offer was a broader, long-term package.
MultiChoice later issued a clarification, stating that the FAQ was in error and that the company fully supports the government’s announcement.
In an interview on Channel One TV’s The Big Issue on Saturday October 4, Cudjoe accused the Minister of turning himself into what he described as a “poster child” for MultiChoice, saying the Minister’s involvement in negotiations that should have been managed at a lower level official was embarrassing.
“My good brother, I want to advise him—look, you are a very intelligent man. Your IQ is quite higher than most people, but please apply it prudently. Let it drive good policy for the country and for the industry,” Cudjoe said.
“I am shamed and mortified that a minister of his stature could reduce himself to a poster child of DStv. That was exactly what played out, and I was very angry,” he added.
Cudjoe questioned why a matter involving pricing and value offerings by a private broadcaster required such direct ministerial involvement.
According to him, the negotiations amounted to “a comedy of errors,” with the Minister personally leading what he described as a “needless fight” over a policy issue that could have been managed by a desk officer or technical committee.
“To have a whole minister superintending on this particular one sounded like, as I said, the comedy of errors. That’s why he was committing so many errors along the line,” Cudjoe stated.
He argued that instead of publicly battling MultiChoice over value upgrades, the Ministry should have focused on broader policy frameworks—such as promoting true competition in the pay-TV sector and opening up the space to more players.
“If we feel strongly that a particular company is not giving us value, what do you do? You open up and allow others to come in,” he said.
Source: Channel1news
