A directive by a minister to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to amend its rules to allow foreign-owned satellite internet firms to bypass Black empowerment regulations has rocked the country’s 18-month-old unity government.

The order that Communications and Digital Technologies Minister, Solly Malatsi, published on December 12 aims to pave the way for Elon Musk’s SpaceX and other firms of that nature to operate in South Africa without ceding 30% ownership to Black South Africans as required by a 2003 empowerment law.

However, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s African National Congress (ANC) party condemned the notice in a release on December 13, saying Malatsi, a member of the Democratic Alliance (DA), was overstepping his executive mandate by seeking to amend the Electronic Communications Act, the Postal Services Act, the ICASA Act, and the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act through policy directives.

The ANC said it was “deeply concerned” by the order, questioned the minister's argument that his directive has public support and asked ICASA to assert its independence.

“Of particular concern is the (Government) Gazette’s proposal to create exemptions or alternative compliance mechanisms to the 30% historically disadvantaged groups ownership requirement,” the ANC said.

“Such provisions would allow certain operators, notably foreign satellite providers like Starlink, to bypass core transformation obligations. South Africa has invested decades building an ICT sector that promotes inclusion, localisation, SMME support, and equitable ownership. Weakening these obligations does not modernise the sector; it risks reversing hard-won gains and entrenching foreign dominance in a strategic national industry.”

The ANC and DA are members of the 10-party coalition that was formed in June 2024 after no party managed to secure a parliamentary majority to govern alone. 

However, the two parties have quarrelled on a range of issues since then, including a proposal by the treasury, which is led by an ANC minister, to increase value-added tax in the national budget early this year. The DA opposed the proposal, forcing the ministry to drop it.

South Africa-born Musk, who wants Starlink to operate in the country, has refused to comply with the Black economic empowerment law, which he describes as “openly racist.”

The parliamentary portfolio committee on communications, chaired by Khusela Sangoni Diko, also an ANC member, stated that Malatsi did not secure cabinet approval before publishing the notice.

He has “neither the legislative nor moral authority to reverse the gains of democracy through this unilateral action, unsupported by the regulator, ICASA, or the department he leads,” she said.

“To the best of our knowledge, he has once again also not sought the approval of cabinet to gazette the said policy directives, which could be reasonably expected given the import of the matter.”

The DA, per Bloomberg on December 15, challenged the ANC’s assertion that Malatsi acted outside his powers, and that the policy directive enables the bypassing of empowerment or transformation requirements.

“Instead, it seeks to prevent international companies from being excluded altogether in cases where local ownership is not feasible,” the party said.