Chief Executive Officer of the Consumer Protection Agency, Kofi Kapito, has criticised Communications Minister Sam George, accusing him of “showboating” over the ongoing standoff with MultiChoice, operators of DSTV.
Speaking on Upfront on JoyNews, Mr Kapito said this was not the first time the Minister had raised such an issue, which has turned out this way.
“This is the second time Sam George has led us to the same issue. It is the same thing he did with the data issue,” he said.
“We wanted value for money. Value for money means that what I am paying is not what I am getting. And even with the data, now that they’ve given you more, the data doesn’t even work as it is supposed to.”
He said that there are more urgent matters at the National Communications Authority (NCA), the telecom companies, and the ministry itself, rather than DSTV.
“Ask NCA the number of DSTV subscribers in Ghana. We have over 5–10 million people who have issues with their communications and data. NCA has what they use to determine what the telcos were doing well, which is the QOS (Quality of Service).
“Since the Minister came, has he even found out if the NCA has done that? That is the perimeter that will tell you which telco is doing well and which telco is failing,” he explained.
“He has been showboating for the longest time, and he has been exposed. What makes me angry is he is a typical person who can dish out the heat, but he cannot take the heat. He attacks everybody, and he cannot even take criticism as a young man,” he said.
On the issue of data, he recalled how the Minister had promised relief but later claimed to have secured more volume instead of lower prices.
“The so-called data, he said the same thing that he was going to get us a reduction, but later he said he had managed to get us more data, which is fine. But is the data working?” Mr Kapito asked.