Lesotho Grants Elon Musk’s Starlink an Operating Licence, South Africans Say It’s a Bad Move
- Lesotho has granted Elon Musk a licence to operate Starlink within the small African kingdom
- The Southern African nation denied that they agreed in order to avoid higher tariffs from Donald Trump
- South Africans criticised the country for the decision, describing it as a bad move to work with Musk
Source: Getty Images
Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent ten years working for a local newspaper before transitioning to online journalism.
MASERU – South Africans are not impressed with Lesotho’s latest decision.
The southern African country has agreed to grant a licence to Elon Musk to operate his satellite internet service, Starlink, in the country.
Starlink operates in at least 20 countries on the continent but not South Africa.
PAY ATTENTION: stay informed and follow us on Google News!
Lesotho denies that decision based on Donald Trump’s tariffs
Lesotho has had a fraught relationship with the United States of America of late, with Donald Trump hitting the country with a huge tariff.
As part of his reciprocal tariffs imposed on every country that imports goods to the US, Trump imposed 50% tariffs on the small African kingdom. It was the highest for any single nation on his list. Trump has since paused his planned tariffs for 90 days for every country on the list except China.
Lesotho has since denied that they fast-tracked Musk’s application in order to get a more favourable deal trade deal from Trump.
"The licence application and the tariff negotiations should not be conflated," Foreign Minister Lejone Mpotjoane said.
He also confirmed that the country wrote to Washington regarding the tariffs through a diplomatic note.
Source: Getty Images
Musk’s Starlink still not in South Africa
While Musk has managed to get his satellite internet service into numerous countries on the African continent, he is yet to get a license to operate in South Africa.
According to the country’s policies, foreign-owned telecommunications licensees must sell at least 30% of their equity to stakeholders from historically disadvantaged groups. Musk has hit out the law, and took to X to complain that he wasn’t allowed to operate in the country because he wasn’t black.
Clayson Monyela, Head of Public Diplomacy, shot down Musk’s claims, saying it had nothing to do with skin colour.
“Starlink is welcome to operate in South Africa provided there’s compliance with local laws. This is a global international trade and investment principle,” he said.
South Africans unimpressed with Lesotho’s decision
Social media users hit out at Lesotho’s decision, with many criticising the country for granting Musk a licence.
Thuso Van Zyl said:
“They are trying so hard to be recognised and seen.”
Rudeness.k added:
“There is no need for them to drive Tesla, they ride horses.”
Moonie Nxumalo exclaimed:
“We are not safe with Lesotho inside of South Africa.”
Jacob Simeleane stated:
“South Africa is brave enough to reject trash.”
Elvis Lopxa said:
“It is about time South Africa invades Lesotho. They are out of order.”
Kenna Sthebe Wenaomang joked:
“Lesotho’s government can't afford Starlink 😂.”
Bunny Ngwenya suggested:
“SA should halt exports to Lesotho.”
Malungisa Barnati said:
“So, the tariffs were blackmail. Now Trump will drop it.”
What is Starlink?
Starlink is a satellite internet service run by SpaceX, the aerospace company founded by Elon Musk in 2002. SpaceX is responsible for designing, building, and launching rockets and spacecraft. The company began deploying Starlink satellites in 2019, with the goal of providing high-speed, low-latency broadband internet, especially in remote and rural areas around the world.
Unlike traditional cable-based technologies like fibre optics, satellite internet systems transmit data using radio signals through the vacuum of space. Ground stations send signals to satellites orbiting the Earth, which then relay the data back to Starlink users on the ground.
Social media roasts Trump for mocking Lesotho
Briefly News reported that Trump mocked Lesotho during an address to Congress where he touched on projects that the USA funded.
The US President touched on how much was sent to the African country before saying that no one had heard of it before.
Social media users roasted Trump for his comments, with some saying that he should brush up on his Geography.
PAY ATTENTION: Follow Briefly News on Twitter and never miss the hottest topics! Find us at @brieflyza!
Source: Briefly News
