Malatsi summoned to Parliament to explain Starlink policy directive

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]