AfriForum praises the power of public and international pressure as government proposes easing racial criteria for Starlink
The civil rights organisation AfriForum welcomes the South African government’s proposal issued in the Government Gazette today for the easing of racial criteria for satellite service companies, such as Starlink, as contained in the broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) licencing requirements.
AfriForum has been a major player in the fight to remove the strict racialist barriers that are keeping Elon Musk’s Starlink out of South Africa. In 2024, AfriForum submitted written comments to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) calling for the removal of race-based criteria blocking Starlink in South Africa. In February of this year, the civil rights organisation also took part in public hearings conducted by ICASA regarding a proposed new licencing framework for satellite services. In its presentation, AfriForum focused on the benefits farmers and rural communities stand to gain from getting access to Starlink, as well as outlining why blocking these potential benefits on racial grounds is unjustifiable. Furthermore, AfriForum launched a petition where members of the public could register their opposition to the government’s blocking of Starlink in South Africa on racial grounds.
According to Ernst van Zyl, Head of Public Relations at AfriForum, the momentum both domestically and abroad is clearly beginning to turn against the South African government’s racist laws.
“Elon Musk’s condemnation of the South African government for its race-obsessed laws has been a critical factor in this fight to close the internet-access gap between rural and urban South Africa. Hopefully this development signals the beginning of the end for race laws in South Africa,” Van Zyl concludes.
