Parliament to grill Minister Malatsi on controversial broadband policy favouring Starlink
Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi will brief Parliament on a draft policy easing B-BBEE rules for tech firms like Starlink, amid growing concerns over its impact on transformation laws.
Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies will on Tuesday, hold a crucial briefing with Minister Solly Malatsi and his department amid mounting controversy over newly gazetted policy directions that could ease B-BBEE requirements for satellite operators like Elon Musk's Starlink.
The focus of the meeting is a draft policy directive relating to the Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP) in the ICT sector. The directive, published on May 23, outlines a path for multinational companies to bypass traditional equity ownership rules, a move critics say undermines South Africa's transformation legislation.
According to the Committee Chairperson Khusela Diko, 'The Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies has invited Minister Solly Malatsi and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies to appear before the committee and brief on the recently gazetted policy directions.'
Diko further added: 'The recently gazetted policy directions appear to be in contravention of the Electronic Communications Act and in favour of low earth orbit satellite provider SpaceX.'
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Malatsi confirmed his attendance, saying, 'I'll honour the invitation.'
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