Cyril Ramaphosa Defends South Africa’s Transformation Laws, Citizens Say It Only Benefits the Elites

• President Cyril Ramaphosa defended the country's transformation laws while responding to questions in the National Council of Provinces
• The president also threw his weight behind a new regulation that scrapped the 30% ownership law in favour of equity equivalence
• South Africans were not impressed with Ramaphosa's statements, with many saying that only comrades who benefited from this

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.

WESTERN CAPE – President Cyril Ramaphosa has again caused a stir online by defending the country’s transformation laws.

Ramaphosa stated that South Africa was not the only country that required international companies to transfer ownership to local investors. The laws have been in the news in the past few months, with Elon Musk and AfriForum claiming that South Africa had 142 “race-based laws”.

But Ramaphosa has defended South Africa’s regulations while speaking about transformation and its impact on foreign investment.

Ramaphosa defends new equity equivalence regulation

While responding to questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Wednesday, 25 June 2025, Ramaphosa touched on the law that required international companies to hand over 30% ownership to disadvantaged groups.

The law prevented Musk from getting a licence for Starlink in South Africa, though he claimed it was because he wasn’t black.

"And let me immediately say that we are not the only country in the world that requires that there should be local ownership," the president said.

Ramaphosa approves of equity ownership

The president also came out in support of a new regulation that scrapped the 30% ownership law. According to the new regulations, introduced by Communications Minister Solly Malatsi, global companies can invest in the country without handing over any percentage of ownership.

The decision was seen as a way to allow Musk to bring Starlink to the country without having to hand over any ownership. The regulation drew opposition from some within the African National Congress (ANC), which insists on ownership law for disadvantaged groups.

But Ramaphosa defended the move, saying it was about finding new ways to trigger investment, without doing away with transformation.

"If you’re not able to have joint ownership, we want equity equivalence that will help to address the injustices of the past," he stated.

South Africans are not happy with either regulation

Social media users were less than impressed with the president’s stance on transformation laws, saying it was merely a way to enrich ANC comrades.

José de Matos said:

“Transformation in the pockets of the cadres. For sure.”

Jiteen Ganesh added:

“Voting for the ANC is like a chicken voting for KFC. Some people don't get it. Others only understand KFC.”

Flynn Govender stated:

“Only the few elites and connected ANC members benefit from these transactions. The majority of the public don't even get the crumbs to eat.”

Christopher Reynolds said:

“There is a difference between local ownership and transformation. Local ownership is citizenship-based, whereas transformation is race-based. Stop lying, Cyril, we are not all stupid.”

Eli Knight noted:

“He means cadre ownership.”

Greg Viljoen asked:

“Why do international investors have to be punished for Apartheid? They had nothing to do with it.”

Gizmo stated:

“Without BEE, Ramaphosa would not be anywhere near as wealthy as he is. It's a great get-rich scheme for the ANC and friends.”

Aloma Van Dijk added:

“The only transformation they did was for their own pockets and pointy shoes. The rest are in the gutters with R350. Great transformation.”

Julius Malema slams proposed changes

Briefly News also reported that Julius Malema rejected the proposed Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) changes.

Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi gazetted the proposal to amend the BBBEE laws on equity equivalence.

Malema slammed this, saying that Starlink must not be allowed to come into South Africa if it is not compliant with the BBBEE laws.

Source: Briefly News