South Africa's government on Friday rejected claims by billionaire Elon Musk that his Starlink satellite service cannot operate in the country because he is not black. South Africa’s telecommunications regulator said Starlink had not applied for a local license. Musk previously wrote on his social platform X: "Starlink is not allowed to operate in South Africa because I am not black."
In response to Musk's remarks, Clayson Monyela, a senior official at the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made a strong response on X.
"Sir, that's not true, you know it! It has nothing to do with the color of your skin. Starlink is welcome to operate in South Africa as long as it abides by local laws. This is a global principle of international trade and investment."
Musk appeared to be attacking local black economic empowerment rules, which require foreign telecom licensees to sell 30% of their local subsidiaries to historically disadvantaged groups.
According to a previous report by the South African technology news website TechCentral, SpaceX, the parent company of Starlink, has written to the telecommunications regulator ICASA, asking it to reconsider its requirement for 30% ownership of licensees.
“ICASA has not received any applications from Starlink or SpaceX,” an ICASA spokesperson said, without elaborating.
According to TechCentral, Malatsi has asked ICASA to consider "equity equivalents" such as skills development to allow companies such as SpaceX to operate locally.
Starlink is currently operating in many countries in Africa. In addition to South Africa, it also faces obstacles due to licensing disputes in places such as Cameroon and Namibia.