Parliament calls for withdrawal of policy directive paving way for Starlink's entry into SA

The chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, Khusela Sangoni Diko, has called for the immediate withdrawal of a policy direction issued by Communications and Digital Technologies Minister, Solly Malatsi.

Malatsi last week issued a formal policy direction to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), instructing it to urgently align its ownership regulations with the amended ICT Sector Code under the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) framework.

The directive, published in the Government Gazette on Friday, was issued in terms of section 3(2) of the Electronic Communications Act (ECA) and follows an extensive public consultation process that attracted more than 19 000 submissions.

Malatsi said the policy intervention was necessary to remove regulatory impediments that were constraining both local and international investment and would expand access to high-speed internet across South Africa.

He noted that inconsistent ownership requirements applied to holders of spectrum and service licences had created uncertainty and discouraged investment at a time when South Africa needed rapid broadband expansion

However, Diko said the policy direction undermines South Africa’s long-standing struggle for equity and redress and unlawfully seeks to circumvent the mandatory requirement that at least 30% equity ownership in electronic communications services licence holders must be held by historically disadvantaged groups, as prescribed under section 9(2)(b) of the Electronic Communications Act (ECA).

She accused Malatsi of lacking both the legislative and moral authority to reverse transformation gains through what she described as a unilateral executive action that was not supported by ICASA or the department he leads.

Diko further claimed that, to the committee’s knowledge, the minister did not obtain Cabinet approval before gazetting the policy direction, despite its far-reaching implications.

“This is not the first time that Mr Malatsi has demonstrated an antagonistic relationship with the law and due process,” Diko said, adding that the move reflected a broader disregard for Parliament’s oversight role.

While acknowledging that the policy direction cites objectives such as accelerating broadband rollout, promoting investment and aligning regulations with the ICT Sector Code, Diko said the committee had already expressed serious concerns during a meeting with the minister on 27 May 2025.

At that meeting, the committee warned that the draft policy directives amounted to executive overreach and appeared to use policy instruments to amend the ECA, despite ICASA’s own State of the Sector Report identifying the need for stronger equality and redress in the industry.

Diko stressed that transformation in the communications sector remains non-negotiable and central to South Africa’s democratic project.

She said while Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs) already exist in the ICT secto, allowing multinational original equipment manufacturers such as IBM and Microsoft to operate under those arrangements, the situation is fundamentally different for network services licences.

She said entities requiring network licences, including satellite operators such as Starlink, are subject to peremptory provisions of the ECA, which require no less than 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged individuals.

“This condition is mandatory because radio frequency spectrum is a strategic and finite national resource,” Diko said.

She described spectrum as a sovereign asset comparable to water, minerals and land, underpinning critical services such as mobile broadband, public safety communications, broadcasting and cultural content distribution.

According to Diko, local ownership ensures that the economic value derived from spectrum allocation remains in South Africa, supports national development priorities, and safeguards national security and sovereignty.

“This legislative requirement cannot be wished away or amended through regulations, but only through an Act of Parliament,” she said. “B-BBEE cannot only matter when it is convenient to investors, especially when evidence shows that voluntary compliance has failed to drive meaningful black economic empowerment.”

Diko reiterated her call for the immediate withdrawal of the policy directives, saying they contravene both the letter and spirit of the law and disregard prior engagements between the committee and the minister.

She said the portfolio committee would convene early in the new year to consider the developments and reaffirmed Parliament’s commitment to exercising robust oversight to ensure that national policy objectives, including universal access, socio-economic transformation and the sustainability of strategic state-owned entities, are upheld.

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