Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi. Picture: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi Blocking Elon Musk’s SpaceX in South Africa is like blocking children from technology they would have access to without the internet, experts say – but that’s what the ANC and EFF are doing. DA Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi has issued a firm policy direction to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa, effectively ordering the regulator to drop its strict Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) requirements in favour of a model that welcomes multinationals like SpaceX.
This requirement has so far prevented billionaire Musk’s Starlink from operating in SA due to its parent company, SpaceX’s, global policy of 100% ownership of its subsidiaries. ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said no minister may amend or suspend legislation via policy directives. “It mirrors a troubling trend where ministers belonging to the DA seek to bypass parliament by reforming laws through directives rather than following democratic legislative processes.
“The minister claims to have received 19 000 submissions on the draft, asserting that 90% of these support the policy direction, citing the regulatory clarity it provides and its potential to expand access to high-speed internet.” The figures raise serious concerns about where the submissions were counted and whether they were independently verified, Bhengu said. EFF national spokesperson Sinawo Thambo said the ridiculous policy directive means companies such as Starlink would no longer need to comply with 30% local ownership requirement, which protect SA’s local telecommunications industry. The EFF has had numerous engagements with mobile network operators and interest groups, who have all confirmed their concerns that Starlink poses a threat to jobs in the industry due to its remote operational nature, Thambo said.
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“Even greater, it poses a security concern, considering the hostility of Musk against our nation. “For an unrepentant racist and megalomaniac like Musk to enter the telecommunications market in South Africa, granting him possible control of infrastructure in the long term, is irresponsible.”
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