Sam George sets up taskforce to fight DStv decoder piracy from Nigeria
Ghana’s Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has announced the formation of a multi-agency taskforce to tackle the cross-border piracy of DStv decoders smuggled from Nigeria into Ghana.
Speaking at a media briefing in Accra on Monday, George said the taskforce was the outcome of a stakeholder committee he chaired, which brought together the National Communication Authority (NCA), MultiChoice Africa and MultiChoice Ghana.
He explained that the practice of importing pirated decoders has for years deprived the state of tax revenue, shifted jobs across the border to Nigeria, denied customers access to proper support services, and weakened Ghana’s local content industry.
“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 of good customer service, and is actively working towards the decline of the Ghanaian local content creation space,” George said.
The new taskforce will include representatives from the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, the NCA, the Cyber Security Authority, the Ghana Domain Name Registry, the National IT Agency, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, the Ghana Police Service, MultiChoice Africa and MultiChoice Ghana.
George added that he would personally work with the heads of the participating agencies to ensure a coordinated approach to ending decoder piracy.
