US EditionSouth Africa is not changing policy to suit Musk's Starlink, minister says
- On May 23, 2025, South Africa's Communications and Digital Technologies Department released a draft policy proposing alternatives to the existing 30% black ownership requirement in the telecom sector.
- The draft follows longstanding consultations unrelated directly to President Ramaphosa's recent meeting with US President Trump, amid tense bilateral talks and deteriorating ties.
- The policy would allow companies like Elon Musk's Starlink to fulfill empowerment obligations via equity equivalents such as local investments, job creation, and funding black-owned businesses.
- Malatsi clarified that the government is not granting any exclusive privileges to Starlink or any other company, while members of opposition parties condemned the draft proposal as unconstitutional and unlawful.
- The draft policy is open for 30 days of public comment and aims to balance transformation goals with attracting investment and increasing competition in South Africa's ICT sector.
99 Articles
99 Articles
South Africa denies watering down Black ownership rules for Musk's Starlink
Elon Musk's Starlink telecoms business will not be given special dispensation by South Africa to bypass the country's Black ownership requirements, Communications Minister Solly Malatsi said on Tuesday.
South Africa is not changing policy to suit Musk's Starlink, minister says
South Africa is not planning to water down its Black economic empowerment laws just to suit Elon Musk's Starlink, a minister said on Tuesday, responding to criticism of policy changes he announced days after President Cyril Ramaphosa met Donald Trump.
Malatsi denies ICT directive paves way for Elon Musk’s Starlink into South Africa – The Mail & Guardian
Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi on Tuesday defended his recently gazetted proposed ICT policy adjustments as intended to broadly attract investment into the sector, rather than to simply pave the way for Elon Musk’s Starlink to operate in South Africa, as critics have suggested. “We are not attempting to open a new dispensation for Starlink or any other company or individual,” Malatsi told parliament’s portfolio co…
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