Luke Botha

Why Elon Musk is RIGHT to fight South Africa’s racist rules blocking Starlink? Imagine this: Long ago, South Africa had very unfair laws called apartheid. They treated Black people badly and kept them from good jobs and money. When those bad laws ended, the country made new rules (called B-BBEE) to help Black people get a fair share of business. The idea was good – like a big helping hand. But now? For companies like Starlink to sell fast internet, they MUST give away 30% of their business to Black partners. Just because of skin color. Elon Musk was born in South Africa. He left as a teen to chase big dreams. Today, his company SpaceX wants to bring Starlink – super fast satellite internet – to South Africa. But the rules say no unless they give up part of the company. Elon said it right: “Starlink is not allowed because I’m not Black.” SpaceX promised to spend about $30 million (that’s 500 million rand!) to give FREE high-speed internet to 5,000 rural schools. That helps over 2.4 MILLION kids every year learn better, get jobs later, and have a brighter future. Real help for the people who need it most! Starlink already works in about 24 other African countries. Villages there now have internet for school, doctors, and business. South Africa’s villages are missing out because of these racist rules. Elon isn’t asking for special favors. He just wants fair play so Starlink can connect everyone fast. Internet = education, jobs, hope. Why hold back millions of kids over rules that pick by race and color?

South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality. The South African government has not confiscated any land. The recently adopted Expropriation Act is not a confiscation instrument, but a constitutionally mandated legal process that ensures public access to land in an equitable and just manner as guided by the constitution. South Africa, like the United States of America and other countries, has always had expropriation laws that balance the need for public usage of land and the protection of rights of property owners. We look forward to engaging with the Trump administration over our land reform policy and issues of bilateral interest. We are certain that out of those engagements, we will share a better and common understanding over these matters. The US remains a key strategic political and trade partner for South Africa. With the exception of PEPFAR Aid, which constitutes 17% of South Africa’s HIVAids programme, there is no other funding that is received by South Africa from the United States.