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A senior South African lawmaker on Monday accused Communications Minister Solly Malatsi of attempting to weaken the country’s local ownership laws to accommodate foreign companies such as Elon Musk’s Starlink.
A senior South African lawmaker on Monday accused Communications Minister Solly Malatsi of attempting to weaken the country’s local ownership laws to accommodate foreign companies such as Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The minister announced last year that he would issue a policy directive to recognize equity equivalent programmes within the communications sector, Reuters reported.
The move, he said, was aimed at expanding broadband access and enabling multinational firms that struggle to meet South Africa’s local equity ownership requirements to operate in the country.
Equity ownership regulations and the Starlink dilemma
These local ownership regulations mandate that companies providing communication services must have at least 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged groups to receive an operating license.
As a result, a company like Elon Musk’s Starlink has been unable to operate in South Africa, despite being active in 17 other African countries, including neighbouring nations such as Namibia, Mozambique, and Botswana.
While supporters argue that it ensures greater economic inclusion, critics, including South Africa-born Musk, argue that it discourages foreign investment and limits technological progress.
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.
She accused him of attempting to “erode hard-won transformation goals” by seeking to bypass the provisions of 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 pointed to the recent partnership between mobile operator MTN and U.S.-based low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite provider Lynk, which successfully conducted Africa’s first satellite voice call using a standard smartphone, as a clear example of how innovation and progress can be achieved while still adhering to South Africa’s local ownership 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.
