Multichoice Limited has proceeded to increase packages price for DStv and GOtv as announce on Wednesday last week.

This is despite the order by Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) sitting in Abuja, restraining the pay tv company from increasing its tariffs and cost of products and services.

Recall that on April 24, the company announced that it would increase its price for its DStv and GOtv cable services, beginning from on May 1.

But CCPT in Abuja ruled that the firm should not increase its prices as scheduled.

The three-member tribunal, presided over by Saratu Shafii, gave the interim order on Monday following an ex-parte motion moved by Ejiro Awaritoma, counsel for Festus Onifade, the applicant.

In a ruling, the tribunal restrained multi-choice from going ahead with the impending price increase schedule to take effect from May 1, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed before it.

It also directed all parties in the suit to appear before the tribunal on May 7 at 10 a.m. for the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The petitioner had dragged Multichoice Nigeria Ltd and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) before the tribunal.

In the suit filed on April 29, Onifade, also a legal practitioner, sought two orders.

These include, “an order of interim injunction of this honourable tribunal restraining the 1st defendant whether by themselves, her privies, assigns by whatsoever name called from going ahead with impending price increase schedule to take effect from 1st May 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

“An order restraining the 1st defendant from taking any step(s) that may negatively affect the rights of the claimant and other consumers in respect of the suit pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”

The company had, on April 1, 2022, hiked the prices of all its packages..

Despite the court ruling, a check by this medium revealed that the South African firm has gone ahead with the tariff increase as earlier proposed.

On its official website, the new prices are now being displayed and implemented.

For DStv Premium subscribers, the price has moved from N29,500 to N37,000. Also, the price for

Compact rate has moved from N12,500 to 15,700 while Confam and Yanga subscribers will now pay N9,300 and N5,100 respectively from their previous rates of N7,400 and N4,200.

Similarly, GOtv subscribers will pay the new tariff increase as the prices have also changed on their official websites.

The elite subscribers (Supa+ and Supa) will now pay N15,700 and N9,600 respectively as against the previous rates of N12,500 and N7,600 before.

In addition, the Max and Jolli subscribers are now expected to pay N7,200 and N4,850 respectively. The former rates were N5,700 and N3,950.

However, on average, Multichoice increased the prices by 25%.

AstraZeneca has launched Cancer Care Africa programme in Kenya, a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the Ministry of Health, The Kenya Society of Haematology and Oncology (KESHO), Axios, the National Cancer Institute of Kenya (NCI), and other partners to improve cancer care in Kenya by equitably improving access and outcomes across the patient care pathway, from diagnosis through to treatment and beyond.

Through a co-creation approach, the initiative will foster collaboration among the oncology community. Hon. Nakhumicha S. Wafula EGH, Cabinet Secretary for Health, Kenya, Dr Elias Melly, CEO, National Cancer Institute of Kenya and Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice-President, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca attended an event today in Nairobi, Kenya marking the launch of this program.

Cancer has become a major public health concern in Kenya and across Africa. Latest figures from the World Health Organization show there were 44,726 cancer cases and 29,317 cancer deaths in Kenya in 2022. This is set against a regional context that estimates 2.1 million new cases and 1.4 million deaths annually by 2040 across Africa.

Despite recent increases in resources invested in cancer, several critical barriers still hinder progress including a lack of disease awareness, limited diagnostic capabilities, an absence of structured screening programmes, and challenges in accessing treatment. To tackle these barriers, each country we work with develops initiatives across our four pillars of action:

• Building Capacity and Capabilities: We are committed to supporting more than
  100 oncology centres and providing training for more than 10,000 healthcare professionals to improve quality of care delivered to patients across the continent.
• Enhancing screening and diagnostics: We will enhance screening and diagnostics provision for one million people across lung, breast and prostate cancer, to improve patient outcomes and reduce health system burden through acting early approaches.
• Empowering patients: We will ensure we address the real needs of patients through engagement with local PAGs to support increased disease awareness and informed patient decision-making.
• Enabling access to medicines: We will enhance the availability of critical cancer medicines by introducing flexible models that can provide access to our innovative treatments.

Ahead of the launch, Cancer Care Africa has already donated ultrasound biopsy machines to seven hospitals across Kenya to enhance early prostate cancer diagnosis, as well as donating the country’s first biomarker testing machine for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations to Aga Khan University Hospital.

Hon. Nakhumicha S. Wafula EGH, Cabinet Secretary for Health, Kenya, said, “The launch of the Cancer Care Africa programme in Kenya is a significant step towards improving cancer care for all. This collaborative initiative has the potential to significantly improve access to diagnosis, treatment, and care, ultimately saving lives and improving the well-being of Kenyans impacted by this disease, as well as their families and communities.”

Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice-President, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca, said: “With an increasing number of patients being diagnosed with cancer in Kenya and across Africa in the coming decades, joint action to improve patient outcomes and safeguard health care systems for the future has never been more important. The Cancer Care Africa programme will support early detection, increase timely diagnosis, and improve access to treatment options for patients across Kenya.”

Launched in November 2002 at COP27 in Egypt, Cancer Care Africa is aiding countries across the continent to fight against cancer by advocating for policy changes to enhance screening and diagnostics, implementing health awareness and education programs to empower patients, as well as training physicians and healthcare workers and building their capacities, and striving to enable access to cancer medicines. With these pillars, Cancer Care Africa strives to improve outcomes for all individuals affected by the disease, irrespective of their demographic, geographic, or socio-economic status.

Yemisi Bamgbose, executive secretary of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), has faulted the decision of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to review DStv and GOtv subscriptions.

In a statement on Monday, Bamgbose said the commission had remained silent following the increase in prices of goods and services by big firms and companies — but intends to review prices of the pay-tv.

“I would have given FCCPC a thumb up if they had been intervening on price matters, most especially those that have direct bearing on the livelihood of the masses,” Bamgbose said.

“If the mandate of FCCPC includes price control of goods and services in a free and deregulated economy, where was the organisation when Bakers Association in the country increased the cost of a loaf of bread more than 200% in the last one year.

“I doubt if FCCPC was aware that a sachet of pure water has been increased from five naira to twenty naira the last one year. Is the organisation on vacation?

“Perhaps the organisation is on leave when bottling companies in the country astronomically increased the cost of malt and other soft drinks. I was surprised that FCCPC didn’t call stakeholders meeting to review the new prices.

“Perhaps the cost of a bag of cement has not been increased from four thousand Naira in the last one year. That must be the reason why FCCPC did not deem it fit to invite Dangote, Bua and Lafarge cement manufacturers with relevant stakeholders to discuss the more than 100% increase on a bag of cement.

“Aviation sector, on a daily basis, increases the cost of domestic flights. This also has not attracted the attention of FCCPC.

“In the education sector, I was wondering why FCCPC could not call for the review of the cost  being charged by private educational institutions   especially those charging in dollars in a country where Naira is the legal tender.”

According to Bamgbose, if other services are allowed to increase their prices, MultiChoice should also have the freedom to determine the price of its products to maintain high-quality service.

She added that the choice of whether or not to subscribe to the service should be up to the consumer.

The secretary said subscription television is not an essential commodity and those who cannot afford the services of MultiChoice or any pay TV can decide not to subscribe.

“Anyway, on the part of broadcasting, I want to assume that FCCPC does not know what goes into the business of broadcasting, perhaps, that could inform the decision of the agency to plan the proposed review of the increase in the price of DSTV and GOTv pay TV channels respectively,” she said.

“There are free to air stations such as NTA, RADIO NIGERIA, AIT, SILVERBIRD CHANNELS, STATE OWNED RADIO AND TV STATIONS, PRIVATE RADIO STATIONS etc where consumers don’t pay to listen to radio or watch television.

“There are subscription channels such as MULTICHOICE, GOtv, TNtv, STARTIMES etc where viewers pay to watch and listen. There are choices.

“During Covid-19 pandemic, stations burnt diesel without adverts or other sources of revenue for more than twelve months in national interest.

“The cost of diesel rose from two hundred naira per litre in 2021 to one thousand seven hundred per litre in 2023/24, and broadcast stations have to transmit for twenty four hours changing from one generator to the other.

“None of the national stations such as Channels TV, Arise, TVC, AIT, Silverbird, and NTA, amongst others, commits less than one hundred million Naira on diesel on monthly basis to keep their mandate of information, education and entertainment.

“It may interest the public to know that many, if not all, of the national radio and television stations in Nigeria have not been able to break-even since 2020 when the nation’s economy was shut down as a result to Covid-19 pandemic.

“Why? Each network station that transmits 24 hours consumes not less than twelve thousand litres of diesel per week. In Nigeria, we want everything free.

“For MultiChoice to provide coverage to the nooks and cranies of the country, it maintains over three hundred sites powered with diesel generating sets in each of the sites.

“The public should also know that these PAYTV companies purchase all these contents that subscribers watch at the comfort of their homes and offices.

“Those who can not afford the services of MultiChoice and indeed any pay TV can decide not to subscribe, afterwards, there are many free to air television channels and content on satellites  OVER THE TABLE (OTT) that can be accessed through free to air decoders and wifi.”

Recall that  on April 24, Multichoice Nigeria announced an increase in the cost of subscriptions for its DStv and GOtv packages.

The pay-tv firm cited the rise in cost of operations as the rationale behind the price increase.