Why South Africans Should Be Uneasy About Elon Musk’s Starlink Push, and the DA’s Unusual Enthusiasm
South Africans have good reason to be suspicious about the ongoing push to fast-track Elon Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink into our country especially given how publicly hostile Musk has been towards South Africa’s regulatory framework and how quickly Democratic Alliance (DA)-aligned officials appear willing to bend long-standing laws to accommodate him.
At face value, the debate over Starlink sounds technical. Communications Minister Solly Malatsi, a senior DA figure, recently issued a policy directive that could allow companies like Starlink to bypass the 30 % local ownership requirement enshrined in South Africa’s telecommunications and Broad-Based Black Economic E…