Scandal! Presidency Shamelessly Backs Minister’s “Brazenly Illegal” Power Grab

IN A SHOCKING MOVE that has sent shockwaves through South Africa’s political landscape, a secretive presidential endorsement has given a single minister the power to UNILATERALLY DISMANTLE a cornerstone of Black Economic Empowerment. Communications Minister Solly Malatsi has been given the green light to PUBLISH A POLICY that effectively GUTS the 30% black ownership requirement for telecom giants, a law fought for over decades. This isn’t governance—it’s a BETRAYAL orchestrated from the highest office.

Sources confirm this radical directive, published in the Government Gazette, is a CLEAR PATH for Elon Musk’s Starlink to bypass South African law. While the presidency feigns ignorance, claiming the move is “within the law” and not for “a single company,” the truth is BLEEDINGLY OBVIOUS. This is a CALCULATED BACKROOM DEAL to hand South Africa’s digital future to foreign billionaires, sidelining the very people empowerment policies were designed to uplift. The so-called “Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes” are a LAUGHABLE SMOKESCREEN—promising skills and infrastructure INSTEAD of actual ownership. It’s colonization by another name.

The outcry has been FIERCE and unanimous. The ANC, the EFF, and Parliament’s own portfolio committee have slammed the move as “UNLAWFUL” and a direct assault on democratic gains. Yet, the presidency, through spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, brazenly defends it. Their message? The law is “restrictive” and might need “amendment.” This is CODE for total capitulation to corporate pressure. They have the audacity to claim the independent regulator, ICASA, will decide—but after this flagrant political interference, its independence is a CRUEL JOKE.

This is more than policy; it’s a TESTAMENT to who REALLY holds power in the shadows. The foundational promises of economic justice are being ERASED with the stroke of a pen, all for the convenience of global capital. If a minister can single-handedly nullify empowerment with a presidential nod, then democracy itself is just a ghost in the machine. The question every South African must now ask is terrifyingly simple: WHO DOES YOUR GOVERNMENT REALLY SERVE?