{"id":623264,"date":"2025-12-15T13:01:35","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T11:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=623264"},"modified":"2025-12-15T13:02:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T11:02:23","slug":"anc-mp-attacks-michael-jordaan-about-starlink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/broadband\/623264-anc-mp-attacks-michael-jordaan-about-starlink.html","title":{"rendered":"ANC MP attacks Michael Jordaan about Starlink"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chair of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, Khusela Diko, has slammed former FNB CEO Michael Jordaan’s views on the Starlink issue in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding to a post from Jordaan about whether enabling Starlink to provide free connectivity to schools shouldn’t be celebrated, Diko described his argument as a “non-starter”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, 12 December 2025, Communications Minister Solly Malatsi published a policy direction instructing the communications regulator to revise its ownership rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response, the African National Congress (ANC) issued a statement criticising the move and saying that Malatsi doesn’t have the power to change legislation through a policy direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the ANC’s statement, Jordaan questioned<\/a> why people are upset by the prospect of a player like Starlink launching in South Africa and providing free connectivity to schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If Starlink agrees to provide free connectivity to rural schools, that’s better than no connectivity right? Then why are so many so upset about the prospect?” he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diko, an ANC MP, responded<\/a> to Jordaan’s post, saying Starlink’s planned investments won’t “move the needle an inch” compared to the 22,000 schools South Africa’s mobile operators already serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a curious statement, as there are likely many schools and other facilities in rural South Africa where it is simply impractical to roll out cellular towers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why mobile operators like Vodacom and MTN are partnering with low-Earth orbit satellite providers, including Starlink, to fill gaps in their coverage footprints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Non-starter of an argument. Starlink must not undermine our legislation and further must meet the obligations that everyone else in the sector is already delivering on,” said Diko.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diko also argued that mobile network operators already comply with South Africa’s transformation laws and cover many previously underserviced areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We need more connectivity, but not at the cost to our national development objectives and sovereignty. It was Virgil’s Aeneid that reminded us to ‘beware of Greeks bearing gifts’.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ANC’s statement on the matter slammed Malatsi’s policy direction and urged the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to resist the Minister’s directive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, Malatsi’s second-in-command, Deputy Minister Mondli Gungubele, an ANC member, has also gone against his minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The policy directives as gazetted by the Minister of Communication and Digital Technology currently constitute an affront to this country’s dreams and ambitions of sovereignty,” Gungubele said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The minister’s directives, as they stand, post divestiture of the ICT multinational in this country, leave us with risks.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said these risks include permanent dependence on foreign vendors, the stagnation of strategic skills, high long-term costs, weak innovation, and strategic vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ANC launches offensive on Malatsi<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Khusela Diko, chair of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications (left) and Solly Malatsi, Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies (right)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Malatsi said in his gazette notice that he was instructing the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to address legal issues with its equity ownership rules for the ICT sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the ANC, the proposal would create alternative compliance mechanisms for the 30% Historically Disadvantaged Groups ownership requirement, enabling players like Starlink to bypass it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The party expressed deep concern about the policy direction, claiming that it exceeds Malatsi’s authority, undermines the country’s transformation plans, and threatens the integrity of the ICT sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It mirrors a troubling trend where ministers belonging to the Democratic Alliance seek to bypass Parliament,” the ANC said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The ANC stresses that no minister may amend or suspend legislation via a policy directive.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said legislation like the Electronic Communications Act, the Icasa Act, the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, and the Postal Services Act can only be amended through Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Minister claims to have received 19,000 submissions on the draft, asserting that 90% of these support the policy direction,” the ANC said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it said it wasn’t convinced. It raised concerns about the public participation process, suggesting it may have been conducted among a limited, possibly organised group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Of particular concern is the Gazette’s proposal to create exemptions or alternative compliance mechanisms to the 30% Historically Disadvantaged Groups ownership requirement,” the ANC said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Such provisions would allow certain operators, notably foreign satellite providers like Starlink, to bypass core transformation obligations.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ANC alleged that the Communications Minister was seeking to introduce legislation without following the correct processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Forcing Icasa to implement measures inconsistent with primary legislation is unlawful, undermines institutional independence, and destabilises the regulatory environment,” it said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former FNB CEO Michael Jordaan questioned why some South Africans were upset about the prospect of Starlink launching and providing free connectivity to schools in South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":341076,"featured_media":483227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[19252,18090,97352,6204,72090,76862,48987],"class_list":["post-623264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broadband","tag-african-national-congress-anc","tag-independent-communications-authority-of-south-africa-icasa","tag-khusela-diko","tag-michael-jordaan","tag-mondli-gungubele","tag-solly-malatsi","tag-starlink"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623264"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/341076"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623264"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":623300,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623264\/revisions\/623300"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}