Comms Minister Malatsi sticks to policy directive allowing multinationals to improve SA's infrastructure
On Tuesday, Solly Malatsi told the Cape Town Press Club that the new regulations aren’t intended to give Elon Musk’s company, Starlink, a free pass.
Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi. Picture: @CommsZA/X
CAPE TOWN - The Communications and Digital Technologies Minister, Solly Malatsi, says people should not obsess over Starlink, saying his new regulations will involve other companies.
Malatsi again defended his policy directive, which allows multinationals to contribute to the economy through infrastructure development and other means, instead of ceding 30% ownership.
On Tuesday, he told the Cape Town Press Club that the new regulations aren’t intended to give Elon Musk’s company, Starlink, a free pass.
He further added that the new regulations are not akin to ministerial overreach.
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Malatsi says his policy directive is not a scheme to give Starlink a backdoor into South Africa or circumvent the country’s transformation laws.
He says the directive is one of a range of interventions to grow the sector and transform it through other initiatives and involves other companies besides Starlink.
"Whether it is Spacex, Starlink, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, or Eutelsat OneWeb. Any other entrant offering alternative connectivity models, our objective remains the same."
Malatsi says the regulations will consider all the written comments and public submissions before the process closes later this month.