Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Mondli Gungubele has publicly urged Elon Musk to launch his Starlink satellite internet service in South Africa, saying the government is ready to welcome the company provided it operates within the country’s equity framework.
Speaking at Bloomberg’s 2026 Africa Business Media Innovators gathering in Hermanus on Monday, Gungubele made a direct appeal to the world’s richest man, who was born in Pretoria.
“Can you get along with us? Work with us in this journey of minimising inequality?” Gungubele said. “I hope Elon is listening”.
THE 30% OWNERSHIP HURDLE
Starlink has not launched in South Africa, with Musk repeatedly criticising as racist the laws that require telecommunications companies to be 30% owned by Black citizens.
On April 12, Musk wrote on his social media platform X that he cannot get an operating licence for the service “simply because I am not black”.
Gungubele sought to reframe the ownership requirement as a reasonable ask. “What is a 30% share if you take into account the 70% value that you are going to make in terms of yields and profits?” he asked. “He could invest very significantly in the country of his birth”.
The deputy minister said it “should not be ridiculous” for South Africa to ask multinationals to “walk with us in this journey of improving, minimising inequality, reducing all the discriminatory laws and all the affinities that are unequal”.
BEYOND OWNERSHIP: SOVEREIGNTY AND CAPABILITY TRANSFER
Gungubele framed the issue as one of technological sovereignty, arguing that foreign companies should not simply deploy technology and leave without transferring skills and capabilities to local partners.
“To me, sovereignty of the developing countries is when the multinationals sit down in that country, the invested country, and agree… How are our digital science engineers going to access those systems? How, when you leave, will we be able to have acquired capabilities that can help us to self-determine?”
He warned of the consequences of economic global concentration, arguing that countries should not depend on “one or two countries” when crises disrupt global supply chains.
A REGULATORY PATHWAY IN DISPUTE
The government has attempted to create an alternative pathway through Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs) , which would allow foreign companies to meet transformation objectives through investments in infrastructure, skills development, and local economic participation rather than transferring 30% equity.
Communications Minister Solly Malatsi issued a policy direction in December 2025 instructing ICASA to consider recognising EEIPs in the telecoms sector. However, ICASA pushed back in May 2026, stating that full alignment with EEIPs would require an amendment to the Electronic Communications Act.
The dispute remains unresolved, with ICASA maintaining that the 30% ownership requirement is a legal requirement that cannot be bypassed through regulation alone.
STARLINK’S SLOW ENGAGEMENT
As of June 2026, Communications Minister Malatsi confirmed that ICASA had received no licence applications from Starlink for spectrum allocation or network service licences.
Sources close to the matter have indicated that the regulator effectively told Starlink not to submit licence applications as they would be rejected under current requirements.
However, SpaceX has begun engaging more directly. Its senior director for market access and development, Ryan Goodnight, appeared before ICASA in August 2026, pressing the regulator to clarify how ownership, licensing, and spectrum rules would apply to satellite operators.
Starlink has also proposed meeting its transformation obligations through EEIPs, including a commitment to connect 5,000 rural schools with free internet valued at R500 million.
A CONTINENTAL DIVIDE
Starlink has expanded rapidly across Africa, launching in Nigeria in January 2023 and subsequently in Rwanda, Mozambique, Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia. By mid-2026, the service was operating in more than two dozen African markets, while South Africa remained one of the continent’s largest markets without the service.
Amazon has moved to fill the gap. Its satellite internet service, Project Kuiper (now branded Leo), has partnered with South African ISP Herotel to market connections to private households starting in 2027.