By Bev Mortimer (edited)
South Africa’s Communications Minister, Solly Malatsi says he is weeks away from finalising a policy direction on equity equivalent investment programmes (EEIPs) for the ICT sector.
This is according to an exclusive interview with TechCentral published on its public website on 13 October, ”In the next few weeks we’ll be able to communicate the outcome of the review of all those submissions and then finalise the policy direction for final decision making by Icasa, the communications regulator.”
This is good news for the many South Africans who want Starlink. This follows Elon Musk’s SpaceX past statements that its application for a South African licence to operate Starlink in the country, was being delayed and, in turn, was delaying the satellite-based broadband internet service offering.
Malatsi aslo told Tech Central in an interview relayed on the latter’s website, that the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies had received 19 000 public submissions on the May 2025 draft EEIP policy, underscoring the need for a thorough review despite some submissions being repetitive.
In adition, he related that, once finalised and adopted by ICASA, the EEIP policy will have allowed foreign ICT firms to meet B-BBEE requirements through investments in areas like skills development and infrastructure, rather than selling 30% equity as mandated by the Electronic Communications Act.
Malatsi also indicated in he interview that within a few weeks, the department will communicate the outcome of the submission review and finalise the policy direction for ICASA’s decision-making process. Source: https://techcentral.co.za/15-months-in-malatsi-defends-his-record/272736/
(Note From this Editor (@sfchronicle): For those not tech-savvy: “An explanation of Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes (EEIPs) In a nutshell:EEIPs are a workaround to meet empowerment rules by investing in South Africa’s growth, not handing over company ownership. They are a way for foreign companies, like Starlink, to do business in South Africa without having to give up part of their company to local owners.
“Normally, South African rules (called B-BBEE, or Black Economic Empowerment) say big companies must sell 30% of their shares to local, historically disadvantaged groups to promote fairness and economic inclusion. But some global companies don’t want to — or cannot sell shares because of how they’re structured. Instead of selling shares, EEIPs let these companies invest money in South Africa in other ways that help the country and its people. Think of it like a trade: instead of giving up ownership, they put cash into things like training programs, creating jobs, building tech infrastructure, or supporting small local businesses—especially in undeserved areas.“)
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