‘Starlink in South Africa’: Geordin Hill-Lewis backs Elon Musk’s bid
· The South African
The Democratic Alliance’s new federal leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, has publicly supported Elon Musk’s bid to have his internet satellite service, Starlink, operate in South Africa.
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The world’s richest man has strongly condemned the country for promoting “white genocide” and “racial persecution”. Musk has particularly berated the country’s “racist laws”, which he claims have halted his business ventures.
Like Musk, Hill-Lewis has criticised the current model of transformative legislation, particularly Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BB-BEE).
GEORDIN HILL-LEWIS ON BEE ALTERNATIVE
In an interview with Newzroom Afrika, newly appointed DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis touched on a wide range of topics he vowed to tackle
One of them was the party’s opposition to transformative law, BB-BEE. Hill-Lewis stated that the DA did not support the current system.
He said: “It is possible to say that we are genuinely committed to seeing black South Africans advance, get out of poverty and into work opportunities without having to support this model of what is elite enrichment and in many cases legalised corruption.
“It is possible to build an alternative based genuinely on broad-based empowerment using things like employee share ownership schemes to give every worker a share in that business. It does not need to entail this current model of elite enrichment for the same hand-picked select few of billionaires and multi-millionaires”.
Hill-Lewis revealed that the DA had tabled an empowerment policy that was “both non-racial and targeted at uplifting people who are living in poverty”.
He added that it was “based on a measurement of their disadvantage”.
WHAT ABOUT ELON MUSK AND DONALD TRUMP?
Geordin Hill-Lewis was then asked about his views on the guidelines for foreign investors like Elon Musk, who has labelled BB-BEE as a “racist law”.
The DA leader responded that the government should permit equity equivalents, as it has with other international companies such as Amazon and Ford.
Although Hill-Lewis labelled Musk as “outspoken, aggressive and quite anti- South Africa”, he backed his business endeavours in the country.
He continued: “We can have Starlink in South Africa and have better internet access. However, there are very powerful vested interests in the telecommunications industry that don’t want that because it is competition”.
Hill-Lewis stopped short of endorsing US President Donald Trump, who has been equally critical.
He responded: “I’m no fan of MAGA and no fan of Mr Trump. He has put the world in a very dangerous place and in many ways is quite reprehensible”.
‘STARLINK WILL COMPLY WITH ALL LOCAL LAWS’
As Geordin Hill-Lewis suggested, Starlink has hoped to achieve BB-BEE status via its Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs).
For this, it has offered to invest R500 million to help connect 5,000 rural schools to free, fast internet. This would be supported by solar power, software, and long-term monitoring, it claimed.
On its website, Starlink also claimed that reports it sought to bypass transformative legislation were a “myth”, as were claims that it wanted “special treatment”.
It shared: “Starlink is not requesting any exemption or preferential treatment.
“It is asking ICASA to align its regulations with existing EEIP law in a way that applies equally to all international satellite operators and encourages competition and investment.
“Nothing in the proposed regulatory alignment would favour Starlink or compel South Africans to use Starlink instead of another provider”.
It added: “Starlink South Africa will comply with all local laws, pay applicable taxes and fees, and meet BB-BBEE requirements like any other provider.
“[It] will partner with local companies, large and small, to increase access and create employment opportunities”.