GNU partners clash over Malatsi's Starlink directive

Instruction seen as move to clear path for Musk

- MASHUDU SADIKE

COMMUNICATIONS and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi's latest policy direction on internet service providers has drawn sharp objections from some fellow Government of National Unity (GNU) partners.

They see Malatsi's Government Gazette, issued on December 12, as an attempt to clear the path for Elon Musk's Starlink to operate in the country by bypassing the strict 30% Historically Disadvantaged Groups (HDG) ownership requirements and replacing them with a less stringent "equity equivalent" model.

However the DA has maintained that the criticism of Malatsi ignores laws enacted under successive ANC-led governments and the agreed priorities of the GNU, as set out in the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP).

The directive allows foreign satellite network operators, like Starlink, to substitute Black equity ownership with "equity equivalent" investment programmes, such as investments in digital infrastructure.