ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: DRAFT POLICY GAZETTED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: DRAFT POLICY GAZETTED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

• 10 April 2026
• Communications & Digital Technologies
• SA Legal Academy

Please note: On Sunday 26 April 2026, government media mouthpiece SAnews published an article announcing Communications & Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi’s decision to withdraw the draft policy. According to the article, the document’s reference list has been found to contain ‘various fictitious sources’. At the time of writing, the department had yet to issue an official media statement on the matter. 2) It has since been established that a media statement was posted on X but not on the department’s websiute, where the draft policy is still featured under ‘popular topics’.

The Department of Communications & Digital Technologies has gazetted and called for input by 10 June 2026 on a long overdue draft national artificial intelligence (AI) policy.

According to a media statement on the two recent Cabinet meetings at which the proposed new policy was approved for release into the public domain, its intention is to ‘strengthen government’s ability to regulate and adopt AI responsibly, while encouraging local innovation, supporting job creation and improving access to AI skills’.

The statement also noted a commitment to:

• ‘cultural preservation’
• ‘international integration’
• ‘responsible governance’, and
• ‘human‑centred’, ethical deployment.

Recognising that ‘risk profiles differ across sectors’, the draft policy recommends a phased approach to implementation.

Against that backdrop, the document explores a wide range of issues including:

• the ‘significant obstacles’ to AI’s ‘inclusive adoption’ and ‘widespread deployment’ such as:
  • ‘historical inequalities’
  • ‘persistent digital divides’, and
  • ‘outdated regulatory frameworks’
• the importance of ‘fostering advancements in key sectors’ with specific reference to:
  • healthcare
  • agriculture
  • education
  • industrial development, and
  • public safety
• ‘intergenerational equity’
• misinformation, disinformation and other harmful online practices
• risk assessment and mitigation strategy, and
• institutional arrangements.

The policy development process appears to have begun in April 2024 with a national government summit and the limited circulation of a planning document. This was followed in August the same year by the release of a draft national policy framework. SA Legal Academy reported on both documents at the time of their release.

• draft policy
• Cabinet media statement
• April 2024 SA Legal Academy report
• November 2024 SA Legal Academy report 

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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