Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi on Wednesday told parliament that he is not going anywhere.
Malatsi was responding to an Umkhonto We Sizwe Party (Mk Party) question about whether he was contemplating calling it quits following the political fallout over his gazette directive over satellite services that has largely been deemed a backdoor for US company Starlink.
The minister was being grilled by the portfolio committee on communication and digital technologies, whose ANC, MKP, and EFF members told him they reject his gazette meant to create a soft landing for Starlink.
Subject to public comments
Since the gazette last week, there has been widespread outrage that Malatsi was moving to allow Starlink to penetrate the South African market by circumventing the country’s redress law known as Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE).
Malatsi has insisted that his directive is not the alpha and omega, as public comments may nullify it.
He has also strongly denied that the gazette is tailor-made to favour Starlink and that pressure emerged from South Africa’s working visit to the White House last week.
Malatsi said that the process to issue the policy directive in the gazette culminated in a drawn-out process that started in September 2024.
That the gazette was issued on the week of the working visit to the White House, where Starlink owner Elon Musk holds unfettered power and influence, was purely coincidental.
And thus, calling for him to resign for doing his job or to be fired was unfair, Malatsi told the portfolio committee. He said it was up to President Cyril Ramaphosa to decide his fate.
Capable of doing the job
“I believe that I am capable of doing this job. I am not contemplating any attempt, none whatsoever, to resign,” said Malatsi.
“When we communicated on the policy directive, the timeline we were aiming for was to finalise the policy direction process by mid-June 2025.
“We are now in May, and we have gazetted that to allow that process to go through. It is a following of a due process that has been taking place for some time.”
Malatsi said he was well and alive to the prospects of his decision being subjected to litigation, as the EFF has already threatened, but he is not aiming to pull back.
BBBEE laws
The minister said all he is seeking to do is to bring certainty to the confusion that may emerge from provisions of the BBBEE laws as well as the Electronic Communications Act (ECA) and that he did not unilaterally take the decision to issue the directive, which is policy of the GNU.
“I am not stuck to what the draft policy is articulating in terms of what it seeks to achieve. Because I do not know what the submissions will be. There may be submissions that may encapsulate some of the views that have been expressed here.
“Those public comments must be considered properly in informing the final policy direction,” said Malatsi.
Litigation
“Somebody (EFF MP Sixo Gcilishe) spoke about the prospects of litigation. It is possible, because any other party that has a divergent view on a policy initiative can feel that the true test of that would be litigation. I believe that this avenue of the policy directive is legally sound in its substance and its process.”
Asked if his directive was not an attempt to put undue pressure on the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), Malatsi said there could be nothing further from the truth.
He did, however, admit that he and Icasa had different preferences. Icasa was leaning more to an amendment of the ECA to align with BBBEE 30% ownership requirements.
