South Africa’s parliamentary committee on communications has recommended the revocation of a key ministerial directive intended to ease entry for satellite-internet providers, including Elon Musk’s Starlink. The directive, proposed by Minister of Communications Solly Malatsi, aimed to allow companies to use Equity-Equivalent Investment Schemes (EEIPs) instead of the mandatory 30% local Black ownership requirement under Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) laws.

The committee vehemently rejected the minister’s request. Khusela Sangoni Diko, the chairwoman, stated the directive was an “affront to the centuries-old fight for equity and redress” and accused the minister of trying to “circumvent the mandatory 30% equity ownership.”

The controversy has deepened the political divide, splitting South Africa’s governing coalition parties, the ANC and the DA. The EFF has been the most outspoken critic, demanding Starlink be banned from operation entirely if it fails to comply with the 30% local Black ownership rule, a policy that Elon Musk previously described as “openly racist.”