The Minister of Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovation, Sam George, has blamed the reliance on “Nigerian DStv decoders” for the decline of the local movie industry and called for greater patronage of homegrown content.
The comments were made during a media address on September 29, 2025, in the context of ongoing discussions with MultiChoice over DStv pricing.
The MP argued that MultiChoice has a mandate to invest in local content using revenue generated within Ghana.
Sam George goes after ‘unpatriotic’ Ghanaians for using Nigeria DStv decoders
However, he highlighted the tendency of Ghanaians to buy DStv decoders from Nigeria to avoid the higher costs of Ghanaian DStv packages.
“For every one Ghanaian contributing to the Ghanaian film or local content industry, five Ghanaians are contributing to the Nigerian industry,” he lamented.
According to him, this financial drain is a key reason for the decline of the Ghanaian film industry, while Nigeria’s film industry continues to grow.
“So we are complaining that our Ghanaian movie industry or local content production is in decline. Our neighbours in Nigeria are seeing growth simply because for every one Ghanaian contributing to the Ghanaian film or local content industry, five Ghanaians are contributing to the Nigerian industry,” he added.
His remarks also addressed discussions on GhanaWeb‘s X Space about whether a shutdown of DStv services would affect the local movie industry.
Sam George framed the issue as a matter of national responsibility and alignment with the government’s vision.
“We want to fix our own country. It won’t be fixed by Nigerians, Kenyans, or South Africans. It will be fixed by us as Ghanaians. This government is a reset government. So let’s reset our Nigerian decoder boxes and reconnect the Ghanaian decoder boxes,” he said.
He announced that his Ministry, in collaboration with MultiChoice, will work to deactivate Nigerian decoders being used in Ghana.
Additionally, he revealed that DStv subscribers in Ghana will benefit from 33% to 50% increases in the value of their bouquets.
ID/MA
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