Parliament demands answers over eased B-BBEE rules for Elon Musk's Starlink

THE PORTFOLIO Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies has summoned Minister Solly Malatsi to brief Parliament on the newly issued policy directives aimed at easing Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) requirements for licensing satellite services, including Elon Musk’s Starlink.

“The Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies has invited Minister Solly Malatsi and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies to appear before the committee and brief on the recently gazetted policy directions,” committee chairperson Khusela Diko said.

Diko noted that the recently “gazetted policy directions appear to be in contravention of the Electronic Communications Act and in favour of low-earth-orbit satellite provider SpaceX”.

The policy directives were published just days after President Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation met with US President Donald Trump and his close adviser, Elon Musk, at the White House on Wednesday.

Prior to the meeting, reports suggested that the government was considering ways to accommodate Musk regarding B-BBEE ownership rules as part of efforts to improve relations with the US and attract investment.

Musk had previously expressed opposition to the country’s B-BBEE regulations and claimed that the only reason his company had not been granted an operating licence in South Africa was because he was not black.

The proposal to ease B-BBEE requirements has been met with criticism from several opposition parties, including Build One South Africa (Bosa).

“This is not transformation, it’s capitulation. The message being sent is that if you are a powerful foreign billionaire, you can sidestep South Africa’s laws while our local businesses are forced to jump hoops,” said Bosa deputy leader Hlazo Webster.

“What begins as a special concession ends in state capture,” she added.

The meeting will take place on May 27, 2025.