Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi, who was part of the South African delegation that visited the White House last week, says all investors, “without exception, are required to comply with our laws passed by our democratically elected parliament”.
Losi has raised her voice in the debate over communications minister Solly Malatsi’s decision to ease BBBEE in the ICT sector.
In an interview with TimesLIVE Premium, Losi said South African workers are under siege with a 43.1% unemployment rate and a 72% youth unemployment rate, with the economy limping along with 1% GDP growth for more than a decade.
Losi said the country needed investment that would create growth and decent jobs.
“This includes respecting our hard-won labour laws respecting the rights of workers, our tax laws needed to fund public services and infrastructure the economy depends upon, and our investment laws, including BBBEE, that seek to empower millions denied a fair opportunity to enter the economy.
“All investors must comply with BBBEE, which provides for 30% BBBEE shareholders or equivalents in the form of supporting or buying supplies from local suppliers, investing in the skills of workers or investing in local communities. These are critical if we are to build not only a growing economy and decent jobs, but an inclusive economy that tackles our painful legacy as the world’s most unequal society,” she said.
She added that the transformation journey is a necessity, mandated by voters and guided by the constitution.
Reports emerged shortly before the meeting between President Cyril Ramaphosa and his US counterpart Donald Trump, that South Africa would seek to relax BEE regulations in the ICT sector, which could open the door for Elon Musk’s Starlink.
Malatsi issued the directive to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) in a government gazette on Friday, days after Ramaphosa met Trump and his close adviser Musk.
TimesLIVE reported that it is believed that behind closed doors with the Trump team, the government conceded to paving the way for Starlink to operate in the country.
Starlink, developed by SpaceX, is a satellite service designed to provide high-speed, low-latency internet access, especially in remote areas. It uses thousands of low earth orbit satellites that communicate with ground stations and user terminals to deliver broadband internet.
Musk has refused to comply with licensing conditions that require a foreign company seeking to enter the South African ICT sector to give away 30% shareholding to black economic empowerment partners.
Malatsi has issued a policy directive to Icasa, which could pave the way for the BEE laws to be relaxed in favour of equity equivalents that will allow foreign investors to enter the ICT sector by scoring BEE points for undertaking activities such as investing in infrastructure in rural areas, TimesLIVE reported.
Part of the agenda for the South African delegation during the bilateral talks was to offer a trade package to the US government.beneficial manner.
Trade, industry and competition minister Parks Tau told TimesLIVE Premium that South Africa submitted to the US government a framework that seeks to balance and promote bilateral trade and investment in a mutually
“Given that the expectation from the US side was for countries to address the issues around trade deficit and non-tariff barriers to trade, the framework includes elements that address these issues and will be subject to negotiations between our two countries.
“The elements include procurement of gas from the US, addressing agricultural market access from both sides, promoting two-way investment, cooperation on critical minerals, cooperation among our development finance institutions [DFIs], and discussion on tariffs — in a manner that protects the common external tariff — and digital trade. All this will be done in a manner that preserves regional integration and industrial capabilities. The request from the South African side, among others, is for a maximum tariff of 10% while the two countries conduct negotiations,” Tau said.
He added that the gas element of the package was twofold. “First, to work on import of gas from the US to ensure security of supply and cater for domestic needs. Further, given the discovery of shale gas in South Africa, there is a need for cooperation on technologies,” Tau said.
Our mandate as Cosatu is to defend and create jobs. Government values partnerships with business and labour as we can only overcome our painful socioeconomic challenges by working together
— Zingiswa Losi, Cosatu president
Losi said the meeting was a reminder for the country to take diplomacy much more seriously.
She said some of the issues which characterised the engagement between Trump and Ramaphosa are a result of “our neglecting bilateral relationships with key partners, not just the US, but in fact across the world from Europe to China to Africa”.
“It is also a reminder that we must get our house in order and tackle our entrenched socio-economic crises. Equally, we cannot accept those who spread fake news or incite hate speech in our democracy,” she said.
Losi stood out along with billionaire businessman Johann Rupert as having taken on Trump during the US visit, dispelling the myth created by the US government of a South African genocide against its white citizens.
Despite receiving praise for her role during the joint media briefing, Losi said she did not know Ramaphosa would ask her to speak, but said she was ready to play her role as a member of the delegation and represent millions of South African workers as a patriotic South African.
“We sought to clarify the fake news spread about our nation, to own our challenges and to affirm our interests as workers in a positive and mutually beneficial relationship between both our nations.
“The president led us with dignity and made South Africa proud. This is the start of a process to reset relations which have been strained and to see how we can boost trade, investment and tourism and most importantly, create decent jobs for workers in both countries.”
Losi said Cosatu has been working closely with government and business over the past few years on extending and strengthening Agoa. Some 500,000 South African workers' jobs depend on US investments in the country and South African exports to the US.
“Our mandate as Cosatu is to defend and create jobs. Government values partnerships with business and labour as we can only overcome our painful socioeconomic challenges by working together,” she said.
The country was on tenterhooks last week when Ramaphosa met Trump at the Oval Office. During the almost hour-long engagement, Trump pushed the narrative that white South Africans were fleeing their country in fear of persecution, accusing the government of confiscating their land.
Trump said his secretary of state Marco Rubio had reported to him that he had never seen anything like it, making reference to the number of South Africans seeking refuge.
After an almost 30-minute-long back-and-forth between the two heads of state on the subject, Ramaphosa called on his delegation, including DA leader and agriculture minister John Steenhuisen and Losi, to testify on behalf of the government.
Losi said growing the economy was important to US-South Africa relations. She said South Africa must deal with the issue of porous borders.
She said there was a willing buyer, willing seller policy, and there was no expropriation without compensation in South Africa.
“There is no doubt about it that we are a violent nation, for a number of reasons, and we are not condoning anything, but if you go into the rural areas where the black majority are, you would see women and the elderly being raped and killed ... the problem in South Africa is not necessarily about race, but about crime.”
Reflecting on her interaction with the US leaders, Losi said it was painful to hear Trump speak negatively about South Africa. She said she was not surprised as these issues have been raised before publicly and privately, including under President Joe Biden’s administration, albeit on different matters.
“We are not concerned about what or how people express themselves, but the lived experiences of our people, and that includes the unacceptably high levels of crime that affect all our people, in particular African and coloured working-class communities, and especially women. We should not sugarcoat these experiences,” she said.
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