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The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has threatened to vociferously oppose any deal which seeks to circumvent South Africa\u2019s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws to pave the way for Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink to launch in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n reported on Tuesday that as diplomatic tensions simmer between the United States and South Africa, the Pretoria authorities are extending olive branches by exploring a workaround to the BEE.<\/span><\/p>\n According to Bloomberg sources familiar with the matter, the South African government is preparing to offer Musk a tailored solution that circumvents existing BEE requirements\u2014rules which Musk has publicly slammed as “racist and improper”.<\/span><\/p>\n It was believed that this would happen during a late-night meeting between South African officials and representatives from Starlink. A meeting was apparently scheduled for Tuesday in Washington, ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s high-stakes meeting with US President Donald Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Economic Freedom Fighters firmly condemns the reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to offer regulatory assurances to Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink ahead of his meeting with US President Donald Trump this week.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis move is not only unconstitutional, but it also exposes Ramaphosa as willing to compromise on our sovereignty to massage the inflated ego of Elon Musk and Donald Trump. We must remind the public and the presidency that Cyril Ramaphosa has no executive authority to unilaterally guarantee access to South Africa\u2019s telecommunications sector, let alone bypass necessary Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws,\u201d said Thambo.<\/span><\/p>\n He added that any such commitments fall squarely within the legislative domain of Parliament, not at ANC\u2019s headquarters – Luthuli House or the president\u2019s delegation in the United States. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThese powers are governed by national legislation and independent regulators, not the whims of one man desperate for foreign approval,\u201d said Thambo.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe EFF is not surprised, however, as we noted this possibility when he embarked on this ill-advised trip, and we are concerned that this as part of a broader campaign by Ramaphosa to appease the Trump administration and white capital by potentially sacrificing key transformative laws like the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act, the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act, and the Expropriation Act.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The EFF warned that it would resist \u201cany such betrayal of the people\u2019s mandate\u201d, including through legal action and mass mobilisation. <\/span><\/p>\n The Julius Malema-led party said it is not opposed to technology or global innovation, but vowed that it will not allow unregulated, foreign-controlled infrastructure to operate outside South Africa\u2019s democratic and legislative framework.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cStarlink represents a threat to local industry and national security as it is owned by an individual who has peddled lies about a genocide in South Africa in an attempt to leverage preferential and unregulated access to our market,\u201d said Thambo.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOne wonders why Elon Musk is so desperate to set up operations in a country involved in a genocide, as any genuine humanitarian would recognise genocide as a disincentive for investment. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe will oppose this Starlink deal in Parliament, in the courts, and in the streets if necessary. Our sovereignty is not for sale to billionaires, nor can it be bought with handshakes in backrooms,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n In March, reported that the controversial S<\/span>outh Africa-born billionaire businessman, Musk\u2019s Starlink had not applied for a licence to operate in South Africa, despite claiming that broad-based black economic empowerment laws are preventing his company from setting up.<\/p>\n At the time, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) had indicated that Starlink had not yet applied for a licence.<\/p>\n In South Africa, Starlink is listed at \u201cservice date is unknown\u201d while it is starting in 2025 in Lesotho, Namibia, Tanzania, Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its services are available in eSwatini, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Burundi, among other African countries.<\/p>\n jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za<\/strong><\/p>\n News<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has threatened to vociferously oppose any deal which seeks to circumvent South Africa\u2019s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws to pave the way for Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink to launch in the country. reported on Tuesday that as diplomatic tensions simmer between the United States and South Africa, the Pretoria authorities are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2445,3745,3807,8751,12608,664,13464,528,16626,4706],"class_list":["post-240890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","tag-country","tag-courts","tag-eff","tag-experiencing","tag-genocide","tag-invest","tag-oppose","tag-parliament","tag-starlink","tag-streets"],"yoast_head":"\nGet your news on the go, click here to join the News WhatsApp channel. <\/strong><\/h2>\n