Musk says race-based laws block Starlink launch in South Africa

Key topics:Musk claims race-based laws block Starlink’s launch in South AfricaDebate over B-BBEE ownership rules and telecom licensing barriersStarlink proposes equity alternatives and major local investment plans.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Hanno Labuschagne.SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has renewed his criticism of South Africa’s telecommunications laws, stating that they block his satellite Internet company, Starlink, from launching locally because of his skin colour.In a recent post on X, Musk said Starlink was not permitted to obtain an Internet service provider licence in South Africa solely because he is not black.The South African-born billionaire was responding to a video of an interview at the Qatar Economic Forum in 2025, where he criticised laws that gave preferential treatment to people based on skin colour.In another post on Thursday, Musk said that he was extremely opposed to any anti-Black and anti-White laws.“There should be a fair and even playing field,” he said. “The facts are there for anyone to observe. South Africa now has more anti-White laws than there were anti-Black laws under Apartheid.”The laws Musk referred to form part of South Africa’s broad-based economic empowerment (B-BBEE) legislation.The Institute of Race Relations’ Index of Race Law tracks Racial Acts of Parliament from the establishment of the Union of South Africa in May 1910.As of 9 January 2025, it listed 145 of these as operative. Analysis by the Free Market Foundation found that this number is greater than the number of laws in effect at the height of Apartheid in the 1980s.Free Market Foundation CEO David Ansara recently warned that Apartheid-style laws with race-based classifications and divisions of citizens were making a comeback in South Africa.Ansara specifically criticised the Employment Equity Amendment Act (EEAA) as one of the most morally repugnant pieces of legislation.The legislation requires all employees to complete a form and classify themselves into one of four categories: Black African, Coloured, Indian/Asian, or White.However, there is no law setting out how someone’s race should be measured, leaving the burden on the employers to decide in what racial group their staff belong.The EEAA also empowers the minister to set sector-specific targets by aligning the economically active population for each economic sector.Ansara warned that in some regions and industries, allowed representation for minority racial and gender categories would often round to zero.“This amounts to an effective ban on men or women of a specific race from working in a given sector,” he said..Starlink supports BEE — but not Icasa’s ownership rules.Starlink itself has repeatedly expressed support for B-BBEE in South Africa. Its main point of contention is a 30% historically disadvantaged groups (HDG) ownership rule for telecoms licensees.The rule requires that 30% of a licensee be owned by black people, women, youth, or people with disabilities.Under South Africa’s BEE rules, “black” typically refers to Black African, Coloured (mixed-race), and Indian. Under certain circumstances, ethnically Chinese people can also be considered black.As an alternative to direct black ownership, Starlink has lobbied the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies to recognise equity equivalent investment programmes (EEIPs) in telecoms licensing.EEIPs are recognised in other sectors as viable alternatives for global companies to participate in South Africa’s economy and contribute to transformation without meeting ownership thresholds.This includes making direct investments into communities, offering free training and skills development, and building infrastructure in underserved areas.Starlink has already committed to spending R500 million to provide free, high-speed Internet and supporting equipment to 5,000 rural schools.It also plans to partner with local companies for its business services and rollouts at school, while expanding telecoms infrastructure in South Africa with a total investment value of R2 billion.Communications minister Solly Malatsi has issued a policy directive to Icasa instructing it to align legislation with the amended B-BBEE ICT Sector Code and the government’s national economic inclusion policy.The directive came after months-long analysis of extensive public comment, in which more than 90% of participants expressed support for EEIPs in the sector.Starlink recently sent an email to people interested in its services in South Africa, encouraging them to write letters of support for the changes to Icasa.“Only one step remains: Icasa must implement the directive,” the company said. “By correcting just four sentences in the licensing regulations, Starlink service could be available nationwide within weeks.”The company again emphasised that it has not asked and would not receive any special treatment. “Once licensed, Starlink will operate as a fully B-BBEE-compliant entity,” it said..*This article was first published by My Broadband and is republished with permission.

Musk says race-based laws block Starlink launch in South Africa

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