President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is working hard to ensure SA-born US billionaire Elon Musk’s affection for, and connection with, the country of his birth is restored.
Ramaphosa said that though the discussions on specific investments were still at an “embryonic stage”, he hoped for measurable progress soon in the telecoms and vehicle sectors in SA. Ramaphosa was speaking in an exclusive interview with the SABC in New York on Wednesday, after a sitting of the UN General Assembly.
“It is a whole process. Some people call it a bromance, it is a process of rekindling his affection and connection with SA. Of course it cannot be a love affair, it can be an investment relationship. He’s invested in many parts of the world; he is a top layer business person who is very entrepreneurial and we would like to get him more interested in SA,” Ramaphosa said.
He added that getting Musk to invest in SA was a project that Ramaphosa was committed too.
“As it is with potential investors, you have to court them, you have to demonstrate to them that there is a conducive environment to invest, so we will see how this turns out. SA is his home, I would like to see him come to SA for a visit... Our discussions are at an embryonic level on a number of issues and I hope to see some progress soon,” Ramaphosa said.
The president met Musk on Monday as part of a R2-trillion investment drive. He and other government officials also undertook “several engagements focusing on economic diplomacy initiatives”, according to the presidency.
Pictures from the meeting were shared on Musk-owned X social media platform by the president, the SA government and Musk himself, who said it was “great meeting Ramaphosa”.
Ramaphosa also addressed the SA-US Business Forum at the New York Stock Exchange.
“The far-reaching structural reforms we have implemented over the past six years have opened up the country to increased levels of investment that continue to grow. This has been particularly evident in the clean energy sector, which has attracted significant investment since our mobilisation drive began,” Ramaphosa said.
His meeting with Musk comes after his recent comments that he is doing everything possible to get Musk’s Starlink satellite service to SA and is an indication the government is working on a way to fast track regulatory approval for the service locally. The government has come under pressure in recent years to license Musk’s service.
The country is seen as being behind the curve in adopting the connectivity underpinned by low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellites.
With SA being slow to bring in Starlink technology, a number of telecom providers are working to secure deals that will, it is hoped, put them ahead of the competition, particularly in outlying and remote areas where connectivity continues to be a challenge.
In recent years LEO satellites have grown in favour as a way to plug connectivity gaps, with Starlink being the best-known such service. Starlink is already operational in several neighbouring countries, including Zambia, Eswatini, Malawi and Zimbabwe, the latest African nation to gain access to the high-speed internet service.
Musk, in response to a post by a frustrated SA consumer on X, said Starlink was “waiting for regulatory approval” to begin operating in SA.
One reason for the growth in LEO satellite use is the cost. Transporting equipment into space is now much cheaper than it was decades ago, in part because space rockets are now reusable, as demonstrated by SpaceX.
Thanks to these advances operators predict that some functions of ground base stations and cellphone towers will be taken into the sky.
With TimesLIVE and Mudiwa Gavaza
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