Latest news with #Diko
Daily Maverick
26-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Parliament summons Malatsi over controversial B-BBEE policy direction
Communications Minister Solly Malatsi has been called to appear before Parliament on Tuesday, 27 May, to explain a proposed policy direction that could significantly alter the way South Africa regulates empowerment in the ICT sector – and possibly open the door to long-blocked players such as Starlink. The summons follows a public backlash from parliamentary communications and digital technology committee chairperson Khusela Sangoni Diko, who questioned both the legality and motivation behind the minister's move, describing it on social media as a 'spectacular mess up of process and glaring invitation for litigation'. The policy On Friday, 23 May, Daily Maverick reported how Malatsi gazetted a Proposed Policy Direction to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), instructing it to align its ownership regulations with the Amended B-BBEE ICT sector code. The key shift? Recognising Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs) as an alternative to the existing 30% equity ownership requirement for electronic communications licensees. Malatsi's statement stressed a need to 'unlock investment' and 'accelerate broadband access' by offering multinationals alternative ways to meet empowerment obligations, such as investing in local suppliers, skills development, infrastructure and small businesses. 'Transformation is non-negotiable,' Malatsi said. 'Even if companies are not rolling out large-scale infrastructure, they will be required to make commitments that are substantive and clearly aligned with South Africa's socioeconomic development goals.' Chairperson raises red flags Shortly after the policy was gazetted, Diko publicly criticised the move. In a tweet posted on X on 23 May, she questioned whether the policy was a deliberate attempt to favour Starlink, saying it could amount to, 'From what could be construed as unfair regulation to attempts to circumvent the law through policy directives not worth the paper they are written on'. A more detailed response, attributed to committee member Stan Itshegetseng and shared by Diko, argued that the minister's directive might be legally flawed. It pointed out that Section 9(2)(b) of the Electronic Communications Act (ECA) required a minimum of 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged individuals for applicants seeking individual licences. The statement asserts that EEIPs, while legitimate under the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, cannot override the ECAs hard ownership threshold – a threshold, it emphasises, that is embedded in licensing law, not just empowerment scoring. 'The minister is effectively attempting to recast licensing law through policy directive', the statement read. 'That is not within his powers. Only Parliament can amend the ECA. Only courts can resolve interpretive contradictions between the ECA and B-BBEE frameworks.' What does this mean? What's at stake? A fundamental question about whether policy can reinterpret law. Is this about Starlink? Malatsi hasn't named it, but the committee has. Parliamentary scrutiny begins The portfolio committee has now formally invited Malatsi and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies to appear before it for a briefing in Parliament scheduled for Tuesday, 27 May, at 9am. According to the committee, the policy direction 'appears to be in contravention of the Electronic Communications Act and in favour of low-Earth orbit satellite provider SpaceX.' Diko declined to speak further on the matter, saying she would wait for 'the committee's collective wisdom' to be expressed.
The Citizen
24-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Malatsi summoned to Parliament to explain Starlink policy directive
Malatsi announced the policy direction on Friday, which provide alternatives to pave the way for the Starlink service in the country. Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi has been summoned to a briefing by Communications portfolio committee chairperson Khusela Diko on the recently published policy directive that could allow the Starlink satellite internet service to operate in the country. In a statement posted on X, Diko said the move by Malatsi to gazette the policy directive appear to be in 'contravention of the Electronic Communications Act and in favour of low earth orbit satellite provider SpaceX'. Invitation The Department of Communications and Technologies has also been summoned to appear before the committee. Malatsi, in a post, responded to the request. 'I'll honour the invitation'. ALSO READ: Malatsi gazettes policy direction to possibly allow Musk to operate Starlink in SA [VIDEO] Litigation On Friday, Diko on X warned that the policy directive could expose the government to litigation. 'If I didn't know better, I would be convinced that the South African government really wants to keep Starlink out of this country. 'In all my thinking life, I have never seen a more spectacular mess up of process and glaring invitation for litigation. From what can easily be construed as unfair regulation to attempts to circumvent the law through policy directives not worth the paper they are written on. We look forward to receiving an explanation in Parliament'. Diko said. Diko has 'respectfully' declined interview requests on the matter 'until the collective wisdom of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee has been expressed'. If I didn't know better I would be convinced that the South African government really wants to keep #Starlink out of this country. In all my thinking life, I have never seen a more spectacular mess up of process and glaring invitation for litigation. From what can easily be… — Khusela Diko🇿🇦 (@KhuselaS) May 23, 2025 Policy directive Malatsi announced the policy direction on Friday, which provides alternatives to pave the way for the Starlink service in the country. The proposed policy direction was published in the Government Gazette. It provides applicants with a workaround to rules on who can acquire a licence to provide electronic communications services or to operate an electronic communications network in the Electronic Communications Act (ECA) that require a minimum of 30% shares to be in the hands of historically disadvantaged individuals. These regulations currently prevent companies, regardless of whether they are large international firms that typically do not sell shares to local partners, from qualifying for individual licences under the ECA, even if they can contribute to South Africa's transformation goals through means other than traditional ownership. ALSO READ: WATCH: Starlink not debated with Trump, Ramaphosa says Transformation Crucially, the statement makes it clear that new service providers, including those offering new technologies, will not be exempt from the country's transformation obligations. 'Even if companies are not rolling out large-scale infrastructure, they will be required to make commitments that are substantive and clearly aligned with South Africa's socio-economic development goals,' the Communications Department said. EFF rejects policy The policy directive has however drawn criticism, with the EFF rejecting the announcement. 'The EFF expected this betrayal, and we have consistently warned that the Government of National Unity (GNU) is facilitating the erosion of transformation in the interests of white capital and Western imperialism,' the red berets said. 'This policy direction is unconstitutional and driven by external pressure, particularly from Elon Musk, a close ally of Donald Trump. 'As a result, the EFF will challenge this unconstitutional proposal in Parliament and explore all legal mechanisms to assert the supremacy of the Constitution and the rightful place of historically disadvantaged South Africans in the ICT sector,' the EFF said. MK party MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said the party also 'unequivocally rejects the newly gazetted regulation'. 'This gazette is not mere bureaucracy. It is the execution phase of a covert pact brokered by Ramaphosa, Steenhuisen and their neoliberal mentor Donald Trump, to subvert the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Charter and neutralise Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) imperatives in favour of unaccountable global capital.' Starlink Talks on launching Starlink in South Africa stalled earlier this year after South African-born Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump ramped up public rhetoric against policies such as BEE laws, which mandate that foreign-owned telecoms companies allocate at least 30% of local equity to historically disadvantaged groups, primarily black South Africans. Musk claimed Starlink was barred from operating in South Africa because he is not black, an allegation South African officials refuted. ALSO READ: EFF threatens legal action over plans to offer Elon Musk's Starlink [VIDEO]
IOL News
08-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Government provides R381 million wage subsidy to South African Post Office amid financial crisis
The South African Post Office (SAPO) has received a R381 million wage subsidy Image: Bhekikhaya Mabaso/Independent Newspapers The South African Post Office (SAPO) is set to receive a R381 million wage subsidy from the government, aimed at covering employee salaries for the next six months as part of the ongoing business rescue process. The chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, Khusela Diko, described the approval of six months of income support for the Post Office as "a much-needed lifeline that the state is both morally and duty-bound to extend." According to reports, this latest round of income support brings the total amount of government bailouts for SAPO to approximately R9.8 billion since 2014. The funds will come from the Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS), which was established to minimise job losses for companies facing distress by providing up to 75% of employees' salaries, capped at R241,110, for a period of 12 months. The scheme is administered by the Department of Labour and Employment through the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). In a statement issued to the media on Thursday, Diko said the amount marked an important milestone in the ongoing efforts to rescue and resuscitate the Post Office. "The R381,297,863.83 wage subsidy for nearly 6,000 SAPO employees over a six-month period signals an important milestone in the ongoing work to rescue, resuscitate and ultimately futureproof the Post Office. "The subsidy is expected to reduce SAPO's cost burden and forms part of the building blocks towards the completion of the business rescue process,' Diko said.
Zawya
09-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
South African lawmaker accuses minister of trying to change law for Musk's Starlink
A senior South African lawmaker on Monday accused the communications minister of seeking to erode the country's laws on local ownership to appease foreign businesses looking to work in the country, which include Elon Musk's Starlink. Last year Communications Minister Solly Malatsi said he would issue a policy directive on the recognition of equity equivalent programmes in his sector to accelerate broadband access and bring in multinationals who could not comply with local equity ownership requirements. The Electronic Communications Act states that historically disadvantaged groups must hold at least 30% equity in any potential licensee seeking to operate in South Africa's telecommunications, broadcasting or postal sectors. Starlink's parent company SpaceX wrote to telecommunications regulator Icasa that local shareholding laws were a significant barrier and that it should rethink the 30% ownership requirement for licensees by introducing equity equivalent programmes as an alternative. The chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, Khusela Sangoni Diko, said in a statement the minister was seeking to "erode hard-won transformation goals" by looking to bypass the Act. "It appears these proposed directives and regulations are an attempt to undermine empowerment legislation by stealth and, should this be found to be the case, they will be fiercely opposed," Diko said. She referred to mobile operator MTN and American low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite provider Lynk's trial of Africa's first satellite voice call using a smartphone as an example of partnerships achieved within local laws. "These initiatives underscore the importance of fast-tracking South Africa's satellite programme, and that there is no need for overreliance and obsession with a single satellite provider," Diko said. "Several other satellite providers have indicated keen interest in entering the South African market and in compliance with our laws." The minister's office was not immediately available for a comment.
