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The Citizen
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
The poverty that haunts the country
We need to get our economy to grow and create more jobs to close the poverty gap. While we attack each other on social media and in the letters columns of newspapers – over everything from Donald Trump to racism and B-BBEE – the reality is that we are, by our very access to these media, a privileged part of South African society regardless of our colour. But, we don't go to bed hungry every night, like a shocking one in four of our compatriots do. Statistics for last year show that 22.2% of households considered their access to food inadequate or severely inadequate, with the worst food access problems in the Northern Cape (34.3%), the Eastern Cape (31.3%), Mpumalanga (30.4%), and KwaZulu-Natal (23.9%). ALSO READ: Poverty, child labour and violence push boys out of school, says Unesco Those figures – along with the proportion of individuals receiving social grants – are a stark illustration of the poverty that haunts South Africa and of the huge gulf between the haves and the have-nots. The proportion of the population relying on government handouts increased from 12.8% in 2003 to 30.9% in 2019 and surged to 40.1% last year, due to the introduction of the special Covid social relief of distress grant. Many of the poorest households are headed by women, a group in our country likely to be less educated and employable, not to mention being disproportionately high numbers of crime victims. It would be easy for the heartless capitalists to say 'get a job!', when this is simply not possible for many. So that is why it is essential that the government continue to operate this social safety net. Those same capitalists should know that hungry people are angry people and that when they have nothing to lose, violence will mean nothing to them. ALSO READ: World Bank: 2% growth won't ease SA's poverty, unemployment We need to get our economy to grow and create more jobs to close the poverty gap. But we need to stop taxpayers' money, which could save lives, from being looted.
IOL News
3 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Starlink under scrutiny: Minister Malatsi backs ICASA's probe into unauthorised services
Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi. Image: X / IOLGraphics Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi has thrown his weight behind the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to investigate Starlink, a satellite internet service operated by SpaceX, for allegedly operating in the country without authorisation. This development comes after the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) alleged that Starlink was offering its services in South Africa without a licence. ICASA confirmed that the organisation had launched an investigation into the alleged unlawful use and provision of Starlink services in South Africa. ICASA spokesperson, Milly Matlou, said: 'ICASA has launched an investigation into the alleged unlawful use and provision of Starlink services in SA. We have also engaged SpaceX for further clarity and have currently deployed inspection teams on the ground to investigate the matter further.' If found guilty, the company could face enforcement actions, including fines or even a ban on its operations in the country. 'Should the investigation yield any breach with regulatory and legislative frameworks, the authority will explore the applicable enforcement actions within its disposal, which may include, among others, lodging a formal complaint with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),' Matlou said. The MKP alleged that Starlink was operating in South Africa without authorisation, using a shadow entity called "ICASAsePUSH" to masquerade its operations. The party claimed that this operation constitutes a 'blatant' violation of South African telecommunications law and represents a direct affront to the country's Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) framework. The party launched its allegations during the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies meeting in Parliament on Tuesday. 'During that session, the MK Party directly challenged the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies regarding his awareness of this operation. His professed ignorance was not only unacceptable but deeply troubling,' party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said. Malatsi has expressed his full support for ICASA's investigation, stating that it is the regulator's responsibility to manage both licence applications and investigations. 'The minister was made aware of the allegations when they were raised in the portfolio committee on Tuesday. It is now ICASA's responsibility to investigate these allegations, and the minister fully supports this investigation,' Malatsi's spokesperson, Kwena Moloto, said. This will be the second time the authority investigates Starlink's dealings. In 2023, ICASA issued a notice, warning that it was illegal for anyone or company to use Starlink, as it doesn't hold a licence to operate in the country. Meanwhile, during the session on Tuesday, Malatsi defended his recently gazetted proposed ICT policy adjustments, saying that it was intended to attract investment into the sector. He said it was not a way to allow Elon Musk to operate in South Africa. 'We are not attempting to open a new dispensation for Starlink or any other company or individual,' he told Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Communication. 'We are saying that the regulations in our sector must consistently make provisions for the two choices that exist in any other sector,' Malatsi said after his department on Friday gazetted a proposed policy direction to the ICASA. Cape Argus
Daily Maverick
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Do the World Bank and International Monetary Fund say BEE is holding SA back?
In Parliament this week, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the World Bank and the IMF had identified concentrated ownership of the economy, not BEE, as constraining South Africa's economic growth. Was he right? 'For you, sir, to say that BEE [black economic empowerment] is holding our economy back goes completely against what even the World Bank says!' Thus responded a decidedly testy President Cyril Ramaphosa to Freedom Front Plus leader Corné Mulder in Parliament this week on the topic of the government's economic policies and whether he would be prepared to ditch BEE. Ramaphosa continued: 'A few years ago, the World Bank and the IMF [International Monetary Fund] came out with a report that one of the things that holds our economy back from growth is the level of concentration. Concentration because, they said, the ownership of the economy is in far too few hands. Ownership has not spread. That is what the World Bank and IMF said.' But is Ramaphosa correct? Which report was he talking about? The difficulty here is that Ramaphosa did not specify which reports from 'a few years ago' he was referencing, and Daily Maverick's questions to his spokesperson in this regard went unanswered on Thursday, 29 May. Both the World Bank and the IMF, however, released reports about South Africa earlier this year. The IMF's was a Country Report launched in January; the World Bank's was launched in February and titled ' Driving Inclusive Growth in South Africa: Quick Wins with Competitive Markets and Efficient Institutions '. What does the IMF say about BEE? The IMF's latest report, partially vindicating Ramaphosa, does not explicitly mention BEE, employment equity or affirmative action. It says that its own figures show 'that white South Africans earn almost twice as much as black South Africans on average after controlling for key individual and structural characteristics'. It further states: 'Closing the gender and racial pay gaps would increase the income of women and non-white population, whose wages remain significantly below the average. Achieving this goal would reduce the Gini coefficient [measuring inequality] by 4 points.' How about the World Bank? Here's where things get a bit more uncomfortable for Ramaphosa, because the World Bank report did identify BEE as a potential 'market distortion' which has 'not been evaluated for effectiveness'. The report did not, however, call for the scrapping of BEE. It stated instead that foreign investors, specifically, should be given alternatives to the ownership regulations of BEE. One of the 'essential reforms' recommended by the World Bank was the following: 'Streamlining firm entry and operational prerequisites related to the 2013 B-BBEE for foreign investors by making systematic use of Equity Equivalence Investment Programs when investors commit to train Black workers and develop supply chains with local businesses. The B-BBEE requires companies to meet specific thresholds of Black ownership and management control to participate in government tenders and contracts. While the B-BBEE is well intentioned, managing required scorecards places a heavy burden on public administration and foreign companies.' It noted that the government had already applied the Equity Equivalence Investment Programe to IT companies, including Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, and banks — JP Morgan — since 2021, permitting these companies to make up their BEE scorecards through alternative mechanisms, including training and involving small black-owned companies in their supply chain. 'The government's next step could be to extend these programs more broadly by clearly outlining eligibility criteria for investors interested in participating,' the World Bank advised. What did these bodies have to say about the 'concentration' issue? Ramaphosa is correct that both the IMF and the World Bank identified market concentration as one of the constraints on economic growth, although in both reports the issue received only a few sentences of attention. 'Market concentration has substantial costs for the economy, and these have risen over time,' wrote the World Bank. 'When market power is concentrated in a few dominant firms, markets are unlikely to innovate and find solutions that will allow them to remain competitive over time.' The IMF, meanwhile, recorded: 'High market concentration in several sectors, including manufacturing and banking, has inhibited the emergence of smaller firms that create new jobs.' Conclusion: Half-truths are the name of the game all over The World Bank did not give the South African government a free pass on BEE, as Ramaphosa seemed to suggest; it did identify the policy as a potential deterrent to foreign investment in particular. But neither did the World Bank or the IMF suggest in these two reports that BEE should be scrapped as the primary obstacle to economic growth, as Ramaphosa's critics have made out. In 2020, the DA wrote to the IMF to request that a loan of $4.3-billion granted by the IMF for Covid distress payments to companies be conditional on it being exempted from BEE requirements. The IMF did not accede to the request. DM
Eyewitness News
4 days ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
ICASA again probing Musk's Starlink for allegedly operating illegally in SA
JOHANNESBURG - For the second time in two years, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is once again investigating Elon Musk's Starlink for allegedly operating illegally in South Africa. Starlink is a satellite broadband service operated by SpaceX, which is owned by Musk. ALSO READ: • Companies who benefit from easing of BEE requirements need to invest in equity equivalent - Communications Dept • Communications Dept issues gazette to review B-BBEE licensing requirements for satellite service companies In 2023, ICASA issued a notice, warning that it was illegal for anyone or company to use Starlink, as it doesn't hold a licence to operate in the country. ICASA spokesperson Milly Matlou said the regulator has received recent reports that Starlink is offering its services in the country without authorisation. "ICASA has launched an investigation into the alleged unlawful use and provision of Starlink services in SA. We have also engaged SpaceX for further clarity and have currently deployed inspection teams on the ground to investigate the matter further. We call on members of the public with supporting evidence to come forward and assist ICASA in this ongoing investigation."
IOL News
5 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
B-BBEE ICT Sector Council raises alarm over new BEE policy proposals
Concerns mount as B-BBEE policy changes threaten ICT sector transformation Image: Supplied The B-BBEE ICT Sector Council has voiced strong concerns regarding recent B-BBEE government policy proposals that could undermine South Africa's ongoing efforts toward inclusive economic transformation within the ICT sector. In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the council welcomed the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies' announcement to open new individual electronic communications network service (IECNS) licenses but raised serious concerns. The recent gazetting of a new B-BBEE policy, which could potentially facilitate the entry of companies like Starlink, comes after a high-profile meeting between President Cyril Ramaphosa and US President Donald Trump, whose delegation included Elon Musk, the owner of Starlink. 'We see this as an opportunity to expand market access and promote increased participation of small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs), provided it is implemented within a robust transformation framework,' the Council stated. However, their optimism was sharply tempered by apprehensions about accompanying policy proposals to allow Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs) to replace the legislated 30% Historically Disadvantaged Individual (HDI) ownership requirement set out in the Electronic Communications Act (ECA). The Council warned that 'introducing EEIPs as an alternative to the 30% HDI ownership requirement could reverse the fragile gains made in sector transformation,' risking a resurgence of exclusionary practices. In their statement, they stated that the ownership requirement under the ECA serves more than just compliance; it is a statutory tool designed to promote direct ownership and control by historically disadvantaged South Africans, reflect the country's demographic priorities, and support inclusive economic growth. 'This mechanism ensures that licensees contribute to infrastructure roll-out, universal access, and broad-based redress - not charity or peripheral impact,' the Council explained. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Alarmingly, the council said that some actors opposing these measures have historically resisted BEE and other transformation efforts, raising questions about their motivations. 'These developments threaten to sideline South Africa's legal framework and long-standing transformation objectives,' the statement warned, adding that some local beneficiaries of B-BBEE are now advocating measures that could exclude the very communities they were meant to uplift. The Council rejected the current form of EEIPs, citing 'glaring gaps' in transparency and measurable impact. The organisation stated that adopting such programs could set a dangerous precedent, allowing dominant incumbents and multinational corporations to bypass local ownership requirements while reaping the benefits of operating in a strategic sector. Potential Risks and Broader Implications The institution highlighted several risks associated with these proposed changes arguing that, first and foremost among them - is the threat to local industry and jobs. 'An infrastructure-light, foreign-controlled model risks decimating local Internet Service Providers (ISPs), SMMEs, and Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs), especially in underserved rural areas,' the Statement cautioned. It argued that such a shift could undermine national broadband initiatives like SA Connect and lead to South Africa's digital payments flowing out of the country without contributing to local economic development. Moreover, the council warned that establishing these principles in the ICT sector could set a dangerous precedent for other strategic industries with B-BBEE ownership requirements. 'This could weaken empowerment models across various sectors, undermining meaningful economic participation by historically disadvantaged groups,' the statement cautioned. Calls for Transparency and Upholding Transformation Principles The ICT council demanded a comprehensive review of EEIPs, emphasising that their impact on sector transformation remains marginal and unaccountable. They called for mandatory, transparent public reporting on EEIP performance, including sector oversight and measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), to prevent fiscal opacity and ensure tangible impact. Additionally, the council urged clarity on how new licensees will contribute to the Universal Service Fund and align with the mandate of the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA). 'Any exemption from contributing to the fund risks creating unfair economic asymmetries and impeding efforts to bridge the digital divide,' the statement read. The Council appealed to the government to uphold the constitutional and developmental vision of economic justice. 'Transformation is a moral, constitutional, and legislative imperative. It cannot be sacrificed for expediency, foreign lobbying, or narrow commercial interests.' According to the institution, the B-BBEE ICT Sector Council intends to submit a formal response during the 30-day public consultation period, urging all stakeholders committed to genuine transformation to review and contribute to the dialogue. They argued that while ICASA is expected to consider the Minister's policy directions, these do not preclude comprehensive sector input. When contacted for comment, Ramasela Matlou, an ICASA spokesperson, stated that the regulator has noted the policy directive and is currently reviewing its contents. Matlou added that Starlink has not yet applied to enter the South African market. IOL Politics
