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Time of India
24-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
South Africa moves to ease black empowerment law under Starlink pressure
Johannesburg: South Africa's government is moving towards easing its black ownership laws in the telecoms sector -- a policy change that would smooth the way for Elon Musk's Starlink to enter the local market. The directive came days after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa met his US counterpart Donald Trump for tense talks on deteriorating ties between the two countries. Telecoms companies operating in South Africa, including those with foreign investment, are currently required to provide 30% equity to historically disadvantaged groups -- a policy created to mitigate the legacy of racial inequality left by apartheid. South Africa-born Elon Musk has refused ceding ownership, calling the black empowerment policy "openly racist" and blaming it for delays in licensing his satellite internet service in the country. On Friday, Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi published a draft policy that would allow the country's telecoms regulator to accept equity equivalent programmes as an alternative to the 30%ownership law. The draft policy is now open to public comments for a 30-day period. - Attracting investment - The policy change would allow multinationals like Starlink to meet empowerment obligations through alternatives to the 30% ownership law, such as investing in local suppliers, creating jobs or funding small businesses owned by black people. It "seeks to provide the much-needed policy certainty to attract investment into the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector, and specifically with regards to licensing for broadcasters, internet service providers, mobile networks, or fixed and mobile networks," the communications ministry said. Equity equivalents have already been approved in Africa's most industrialised nation for many multinationals, including US-based Microsoft and Hewlett Packard and South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics. South Africa offered a similar deal to the automotive industry in 2019. Ties between Washington and Pretoria have nosedived since Trump took office in January, with the US leader cutting aid, expelling the South African ambassador and threatening tariff hikes. Both sides met in Washington on Wednesday and agreed "to strengthen bilateral trade ties, increase investments for mutual benefit and forge collaboration in technological exchanges," the South African presidency has said. A presidency spokesman told AFP that while there had been discussions about Starlink at the meeting, the draft law was aimed at benefiting the whole sector. In April, South Africa's neighbour Lesotho granted a licence to Starlink hours after denying it was fast-tracking the process as part of US tariff concessions.
The Citizen
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Malatsi gazettes policy to possibly allow Musk to operate Starlink in SA
It provides applicants with a workaround to rules on who can acquire a licence to provide electronic communications services. Musk claimed Starlink was barred from operating in South Africa because he is not black, an allegation South African officials refuted. South Africa is one step closer to getting Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service after Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi published a policy direction to provide alternatives to pave the way for the service in the country. The proposed policy direction was published in the Government Gazette on Friday. Workaround BEE 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. 'The policy direction seeks to provide the much-needed policy certainty to attract investment into the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector, and specifically with regards to licensing for broadcasters, internet service providers, mobile networks, or fixed and mobile networks,' Malatsi's spokesperson Kwena Moloto said in a statement on Friday. ALSO READ: WATCH: Starlink not debated with Trump, Ramaphosa says Transformation no exempt 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. 'ICASA's [Independent Communications Authority of South Africa] regulations may continue to require 30% equity ownership by historically disadvantaged individuals but must also permit commitments envisaged by the ICT Sector Code as valid conditions for applications for individual licenses,' the statement read. 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. Musk not black At an event on Wednesday, Musk repeated the rhetoric of not being granted a license because of the laws. '[The laws) give strong preference if you're a black South African. And so now I'm in this absurd situation where I was born in South Africa but cannot get a licence to operate in South Africa because I'm not black.' No debate On Wednesday, after a heated meeting with Trump, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Musk's Starlink satellite internet service was not discussed with the US during their working lunch at the White House. 'The Starlink issue, was it part of our discussions? No. What we are able to do – and this is part of the offer that we are talking about – is create an environment for investments to take place. 'What do we want? We want US companies to come and invest in South Africa. That is the real deal for us,' Ramaphosa said. Starlink for crime It was renowned businessman Johann Rupert who first brought up Starlink during the open bilateral talks with Musk, standing among the media in the Oval Office. Rupert also addressed Trump during the meeting, calling for US support in tackling crime, putting paid to the 'white genocide' narrative Trump seems to believe. He told Trump that crime is a 'South African problem' and occurs everywhere. 'We have too many deaths, but it's across the board. It's not only white farmers. We need technological help. We need Starlink at every police station'. Starlink in SA This week, The Citizen reported that the government planned to offer a workaround to local black ownership laws so that Starlink can operate in the country. The offer came at a last-minute meeting between Musk or his representatives and a delegation of South African officials travelling with Ramaphosa, according to three people familiar with the discussions. With its wide coverage and increasing affordability, Starlink presents a chance to close the connectivity gap in rural areas while also appealing to urban users. Starlink operates thousands of low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide high-speed internet globally. ALSO READ: EFF threatens legal action over plans to offer Elon Musk's Starlink [VIDEO]
