Sam George responds to public pressure over data prices

The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations, Mr. Sam Nartey George, has reaffirmed his commitment to making internet data more affordable for Ghanaians by the end of 2025.

Speaking at the World Telecommunications and Information Society Day event on May 19, Mr. George addressed growing public pressure, especially on social media, regarding high data prices. He acknowledged the numerous posts on X (formerly Twitter) urging him to remove over 39% in tariffs on data purchases to help lower costs.

“I’ve been trending over the weekend on twitter because people think data costs must be cheaper by just the stroke of my pen,” he said.

In response, he revealed that a committee had been formed to investigate the issue and develop practical steps to reduce data prices. “I set up a committee whose mandate in 14 days was to develop a roadmap that will lead to a drop in the prices of data. In 13 days they delivered a road map. We’re dealing with 8 years of distortion of the market. I wish I could fix it arbitrarily, but it takes a carefully calculated effort.”

Despite the challenges, Mr. George emphasized that his promise to Ghanaians remains unchanged. “My promise was that by the end of this year we will see prices drop and my promise remains. Just trust the process,” he said.

This pledge echoes comments he made in April during an interview on TV3 with Roland Walker. In that conversation, he clarified that while he cannot directly control the pricing of data, his ministry can implement policies to promote affordability.

“I can’t set prices for data, I will use policies to ensure affordable data,” Mr. George stated. “At my vetting, I said that it is my fervent belief that before the end of this year, we should see some movements in the data offerings.”

He also explained the possible approaches his ministry could take: “You can either have a reduction in prices of data or an increase in value offerings.”

As Ghanaians continue to call for lower internet costs, attention remains fixed on whether the government’s promises will materialize in the coming months.