The tussle between Starlink boss Elon Musk and South Africa over the company’s failure to launch in the country stems from the nation’s black empowerment laws, and could be one factor behind the diplomatic row between the US and Africa’s most industrialised nation.
To his more than 219 million followers on his social media platform X, Mr Musk made the racially charged claim that his satellite internet service provider was “not allowed to operate in South Africa simply because I’m not black”.
But the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) – a regulatory body in the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors – told the BBC that Starlink had never submitted an application for a licence.
As for the foreign ministry, it said the company was welcome to operate in the country “provided there’s compliance with local laws”.
So what are the legal sticking points?
To operate in South Africa, Starlink needs to obtain network and service licences, which both require 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged groups.
This mainly refers to South Africa’s majority black population, which was shut out of the economy during the racist system of apartheid.
White-minority rule ended in 1994 after Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress (ANC) came to power.
Since then, the ANC has made “black empowerment” a central pillar of its economic policy in an attempt to tackle the racial injustices of the past.
This has included adopting legislation requiring investors to give local black firms a 30% stake in their businesses in South Africa.
Mr Musk – who was born in South Africa in 1971 before moving to Canada in the late 1980s and then to the US, where he became the world’s richest man – appears to see this as the main stumbling block for Starlink to operate in the country.
Starlink, in a written submission to Icasa, said the black empowerment provisions in legislation excluded “many” foreign satellite operators from the South African market, according to local news site TechCentral.
But foreign ministry spokesperson Clayson Monyela challenged this view in March, saying on X that more than 600 US companies, including computing giant Microsoft, were operating in South Africa in compliance with its laws – and “thriving”.
Are there attempts to end the impasse?
Mr Musk’s Starlink has a potential ally in South Africa’s Communications Minister Solly Malatsi.
He comes from the Democratic Alliance (DA) – the second-biggest party in South Africa – which joined a coalition government after the ANC failed to get a parliamentary majority in last year’s election.
The DA is a fierce critic of the current black empowerment laws, claiming they have fuelled cronyism and corruption with investors forced to link up with ANC-connected companies to operate in South Africa or to win state contracts.
Last October, Malatsi hinted that he was looking for a way to circumvent the 30% black equity requirement, saying he intended to issue a “policy direction” to Icasa with the aim of clarifying “the position on the recognition of equity equivalent programmes”.
In simple terms, Malatsi seemed to be suggesting that Starlink would not require a black business partner in South Africa, though it would have to invest in social programmes aimed at benefiting black people – especially the poor.
But some six months later, Malatsi has failed to change the policy, with a spokesperson for his department telling the BBC that their legal team was still looking into the matter.
It seems the communications minister may be facing political resistance from ANC lawmakers in parliament.
Khusela Diko, the chairperson of the parliamentary communications committee to which Malatsi is accountable, warned him earlier this month that “transformation” in the tech sector was non-negotiable, appearing to oppose giving Mr Musk’s Starlink any special treatment.
Diko said that “the law is clear on compliance” and, crucially added, that “cutting corners and circumvention is not an option – least of all to appease business interests”.
Diko’s tough position comes as no surprise, as relations between the South African government and the US have hit rock bottom during US President Donald Tump’s second term.
Why have relations deteriorated?
Mr Musk, part of Trump’s inner circle, has railed on X against what he calls “racist ownership laws” in South Africa, while the US president has threatened to boycott the G20 summit of world leaders to be held in the country later this year.
“How could we be expected to go to South Africa for the very important G20 Meeting when Land Confiscation and Genocide is the primary topic of conversation? They are taking the land of white Farmers, and then killing them and their families,” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social.
His claims of a genocide against white farmers have been widely dismissed as false, but they echo those of the tech billionaire.
Last month, Mr Musk accused “a major” political party in South Africa – a reference to the radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which came fourth in last year’s election – of “actively promoting white genocide”.
“A month ago, the South African government passed a law legalizing taking property from white people at will with no payment,” Mr Musk said.
“Where is the outrage? Why is there no coverage by the legacy media?
South Africa did pass a law earlier this year allowing the government to seize property without compensation, but only in certain cases.
Nevertheless, Musk links these issues to his failure to get a licence for Starlink, making the comment in March that this was down to him not being black.
His hard-line stance comes despite meeting South Africa’s president in New York last year.
At the time, Mr Musk described the meeting as “great”, while President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had tried to persuade the billionaire to invest in South Africa.
“Meeting Elon Musk was a clear intention of mine… Some people call it bromance, so it’s a whole process of rekindling his affection and connection with South Africa,” Ramaphosa told South Africa’s public broadcaster, SABC.
But he added that nothing had yet been “bedded down”.
“As it happens with potential investors, you have to court them; you have to be talking to them, and you’ve got to be demonstrating to them that there is a conducive environment for them to invest. So, we will see how this turns out,” the president said.
“He is South African-born and South Africa is his home, and I would want to see him coming to South Africa for a visit, tour or whatever.”
But the “bromance” has long ended, with Mr Musk appearing to move closer to South Africa’s right wing.
Has Starlink had problems elsewhere in Africa?
Lesotho appears to have bowed to pressure from the Trump administration by announcing on Monday that it had given a 10-year licence to Starlink.
It comes after Trump imposed a 50% tariff on imports from Lesotho, threatening thousands of jobs in the country.
Trump subsequently paused that for 90 days, but a 10% tariff still came into effect on 5 April.
Some reports suggest the Lesotho Communications Authority (LCA) cleared regulatory hurdles to stave off the threat of a further tariff hike by granting Starlink a licence.
However, this was denied by Foreign Minister Lejone Mpotjoane.
“The licence application and the tariff negotiations should not be conflated,” he said.
The decision to grant the licence was condemned by civil society group Section Two, which raised concern that Starlink Lesotho was 100% foreign-owned and lacked local ownership, South Africa’s GroundUp news site reported.
“Such actions can only be described as a betrayal – a shameful sell-out by a government that appears increasingly willing to place foreign corporate interests above the democratic will and long-term developmental needs of the people of Lesotho,” Section Two’s co-ordinator Kananelo Boloetse was quoted as saying.
During public consultations over Starlink’s application, Vodacom Lesotho had also argued that Mr Musk’s company should establish local shareholding before receiving a licence, the Space in Africa website reported.
“These concerns highlight broader tensions surrounding Starlink’s operations across Africa, particularly the growing demand for local partnerships,” it added.
Starlink also appears to be seeking an exemption in Namibia from the requirement to bring in a local partner.
Namibia is a former colony of Germany, and was under the rule of South Africa’s white-minority regime until it gained independence in 1990.
It has more stringent requirements than its post-apartheid neighbour, with businesses operating in Namibia needing to be 51% locally owned.
The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) told the BBC that Starlink had submitted an application for a telecommunications service licence in June 2024.
Cran said that while this process usually took between three to six months, a decision had not yet been taken because it “must first wait for the ownership exemption application to be finalised” by Namibia’s information and communication technology minister. – BBC
By Khanyisile Ngcobo