On Wednesday the Parliamentary Committee on Media and Communication summoned stakeholders involved in the ongoing standoff between the Malawi Communications Regulatory (MACRA) and Multichoice Africa Holdings (MAH) which has seen the latter withdrawing its Digital Satellite Television Services (DStv) in the country citing a very hostile environment by the regulator.
It follows a series of court battles between the two institutions.
The bone of contention has been a decision by Multichoice Malawi to effect a tariff adjustment of DSTV services without consulting the regulator as per the provisions of, Malawi’s 2016 Communications Act.
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There has been growing confusion among DSTV subscribers in the country with others accusing MACRA of deliberately frustrating Multichoice to withdraw its services.
Many who claim aggrieved by the service withdrawal, feel MACRA is depriving them of home entertainment which they enjoy through DSTV subscription.
However what is not being said clearly is the genesis of the current standoff.
Time and again MACRA has been issuing statements in the media that it is not against the tariff adjustment but rather the manner in which it was effected.
What must be pointed out clearly is that the current matter is not as a result of MACRA rejecting Multichoice Malawi’s tariff adjustment request made on 3rd June 2022, but rather Multichoice’s conduct to proceed to implement the tariff adjustment without MACRA’s approval.
This is a serious violation of the law which as a regulator, MACRA cannot just sit and watch.
If it was that MACRA was against the tariff adjustment then it could not have gone ahead to approve the tariff adjustment of GO TV which is also a Multichoice Malawi product.
It beats any sensible person then to wonder the motive behind Multichoice’s ambush approach in adjusting DSTV tariffs when the same Multichoice duly complied in adjusting GO TV tariffs.
This smacks of ill motive on the part of Multichoice as a service provider.
While Multichoice Malawi has argued that it does not hold control over DSTV tariffs as this is a Multichoice Africa product, MACRA on the other hand have argued their case to say despite DSTV being a Multichoice Africa Product, but the fact that the product is being offered in Malawi’s cyber space which MACRA Regulates therefore any telecommunication service provider within the confines of Malawi must duly comply with the provisions of the country’s Communications Act which makes us to agree with MACRA that theirs is a valid case.
Multichoice breached the country’s Communications Act but it has now just embarked on a public sympathy buying mission by accusing MACRA of making the operating environment hostile.
