Why invest in a country experiencing genocide?: EFF to oppose Starlink in Parliament, courts and on the streets

THE Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has threatened to vociferously oppose any deal that seeks to circumvent South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws to allow Elon Musk’s Starlink to launch in the country.

As diplomatic tensions simmer between the United States and South Africa, the Pretoria authorities are extending olive branches by exploring a workaround to the BEE.

According to Bloomberg sources familiar with the matter, the South African government is preparing to offer Musk a tailored solution that circumvents existing BEE requirements—rules that Musk has publicly slammed as "racist and improper."

It was believed that this would happen during a late-night meeting between South African officials and representatives from Starlink. A meeting was scheduled for Tuesday in Washington, ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s high-stakes meeting with US President Donald Trump.

“The Economic Freedom Fighters firmly condemns the reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to offer regulatory assurances to Elon Musk’s Starlink ahead of his meeting with US President Donald Trump this week.

“This move is not only unconstitutional, but it also exposes Ramaphosa as willing to compromise on our sovereignty to massage the inflated ego of Elon Musk and Donald Trump. We must remind the public and the presidency that Cyril Ramaphosa has no executive authority to unilaterally guarantee access to South Africa’s telecommunications sector, let alone bypass necessary Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws,” said Thambo.

He added that any such commitments fall squarely within the legislative domain of Parliament, not at ANC’s headquarters - Luthuli House or the president’s delegation in the United States. 

“These powers are governed by national legislation and independent regulators, not the whims of one man desperate for foreign approval,” said Thambo.

“The EFF is not surprised, however, as we noted this possibility when he embarked on this ill-advised trip, and we are concerned that this as part of a broader campaign by Ramaphosa to appease the Trump administration and white capital by potentially sacrificing key transformative laws like the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act, the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act, and the Expropriation Act.”

The EFF warned that it would resist “any such betrayal of the people’s mandate”, including through legal action and mass mobilisation. 

The Julius Malema-led party said it is not opposed to technology or global innovation, but vowed that it will not allow unregulated, foreign-controlled infrastructure to operate outside South Africa’s democratic and legislative framework.

“Starlink represents a threat to local industry and national security as it is owned by an individual who has peddled lies about a genocide in South Africa in an attempt to leverage preferential and unregulated access to our market,” said Thambo.

“One wonders why Elon Musk is so desperate to set up operations in a country involved in a genocide, as any genuine humanitarian would recognise genocide as a disincentive for investment. 

“We will oppose this Starlink deal in Parliament, in the courts, and in the streets if necessary. Our sovereignty is not for sale to billionaires, nor can it be bought with handshakes in backrooms,” he said.

In March, controversial South Africa-born billionaire businessman, Musk’s Starlink had not applied for a licence to operate in South Africa, despite claiming that broad-based black economic empowerment laws are preventing his company from setting up.

At the time, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) had indicated that Starlink had not yet applied for a licence.

In South Africa, Starlink is listed as “service date is unknown” while it is starting in 2025 in Lesotho, Namibia, Tanzania, Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its services are available in eSwatini, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Burundi, among other African countries.