"DStv cross-border piracy a key concern" – Sam George

Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has identified the cross-border piracy of DStv decoders from Nigeria into Ghana as a major challenge undermining the country’s digital economy.

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, September 29, 2025, the Minister revealed that the stakeholder committee set up to review DStv’s pricing and operations in Ghana had highlighted decoder piracy as one of the most pressing concerns.

“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,” Sam George stated.

To address the matter, he announced plans to establish a multi-agency working group that will bring together representatives from the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, the National Communications Authority (NCA), the Cyber Security Authority.

Others include; 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,” the Minister assured.

The initiative, according to him, will strengthen enforcement mechanisms, protect local content creators, and safeguard consumer interests in Ghana’s pay-TV industry.

Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith