According to reporting by Bloomberg, South Africa’s government plans to offer Elon Musk a workaround of local Black ownership laws for his Starlink internet service to operate in the country, aiming to ease tensions with both the billionaire and US President Donald Trump.
Instead of equity ownership, a so-called Equity Equivalent option would instead involve investments in infrastructure or training, or providing Starlink kits to rural areas to help improve Internet access.
Talks on launching Starlink in South Africa stalled earlier this year after Musk and Trump ramped up public rhetoric against policies such as BEE laws, which would require SpaceX, the parent company of Starlink, to reserve 30% ownership for Historically Disadvantaged Peoples (HDPs). In South Africa, HDPs include mostly black people who were denied economic opportunities during the apartheid regime.
South Africa's willingness to bend the knee to Starlink mirrors Botswana's decision to abruptly license the low earth orbit internet service following former President Masisi's meeting with SpaceX execs in the US last year.
The licensing came three months after the Botswana Communications and Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), rejected Starlink’s operating license application, citing missing information.
“After the meeting [with SpaceX], I immediately decided to agree to the licensing of Starlink in the country,” President Masisi said. President Masisi said that he had given the regulator two weeks to fast-track Starlink’s license application following the meeting.
African governments' willingness to bend set rules for international companies like SpaceX shows the power that lobbying has. With access to decisionmakers, international companies are able to circumvent rules set for every, putting into question the relevance of such rules.