It seems that two factions within South Africa’s administration are at each other’s throats. Communications Minister Solly Malatsi’s outburst on April 24th that his patience with regulator ICASA has run out is a clear demonstration that all is not well with South Africa’s supervisors.

The spat is understood to refer to the request from SpaceX and is plan to launch a broadband-by-satellite system for South Africa.

Malatsi’s comments were written and said to be carefully phrased: Malatsi “expects to be provided with reasons for the lack of sufficient detail” in ICASA’s response to his December policy direction – but the real meaning is impossible to disguise. ICASA has been sitting on the direction for more than four months. The minister, a senior Democratic Alliance figure in the government of national unity, has seemingly decided to force the issue.

The December direction statement required ICASA to align its licensing rules with the broader B-BBEE (Black Empowerment) framework by recognising equity equivalent investment programmes, or EEIPs, as an alternative route to compliance with South Africa’s requirements.

Foreign investors are required to allocate 30 per cent of local equity under these BEE rules, or instead invest equivalent amounts in other locally approved enterprises.

The overarching problem is seen not so much as the BEE rules but Elon Musk himself. He has accused the government of being “racist” and carrying out “white genocide” and supporting the immigration into the United States of Afrikaners who Musk sees as being unfairly persecuted.

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Categories: Articles, Policy, Regulation

Tags: elon musk, icasa, south africa, spacex