Communications minister Solly Malatsi has appointed an unbiased panel of AI researchers, attorneys and governance specialists to rebuild South Africa’s draft nationwide AI coverage, a doc he was pressured to withdraw final month after educational citations in its reference record turned out to have been fabricated by a generative AI instrument.
“We can not talk about the problem of coverage with out discussing the matter of the draft nationwide synthetic intelligence coverage, and the revelation that generative AI was used irresponsibly in the course of the drafting of this coverage,” Malatsi informed MPs on Tuesday as he tabled the division of communications & digital applied sciences’ R2.55-billion price range for the 2026/2027 monetary 12 months.
“We will likely be imposing an inside accountable AI use coverage, and assessment our coverage growth course of, to make sure that one of these incidence doesn’t occur once more. South Africa deserves higher,” he stated.
The panel will likely be chaired by Wits College AI researcher Benjamin Rosman. Rosman was named as one in every of Time’s 100 most influential thinkers in AI in 2025.
Different members embrace professor Vukosi Marivate of the College of Pretoria, Analysis ICT Africa’s Alison Gillwald, legal professional Heather Irvine, Tshepo Feela, the CSIR’s Jabu Mtsweni and Lufuno Tshikalange. The group spans AI analysis, legislation and digital governance.
Malatsi stated the panel has been tasked with guaranteeing that the revised coverage is predicated on the perfect out there proof and aligned with South Africa’s priorities earlier than it’s reintroduced for public remark. No timeline was given for the brand new draft.
The unique draft AI coverage was authorised by cupboard on 25 March and gazetted on 10 April for public remark. It was withdrawn inside two weeks of its launch.
Pretend citations
A least six of the 67 entries within the doc’s reference record have been drawn from journals that didn’t exist or attributed to journals that had by no means printed the work cited. Editors of the South African Journal of Philosophy, AI & Society and the Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy independently confirmed to News24 – which first broke the story – that articles credited to their publications had by no means appeared.
Throughout his handle to parliament on Tuesday, Malatsi described the usage of generative AI within the drafting course of as irresponsible and acknowledged that the episode had broken the credibility of the doc. Withdrawal, he stated, had been the one viable possibility.
Learn: The AI coverage that AI broke
The fallout has been appreciable. ANC MP Khusela Diko, who chairs parliament’s communications portfolio committee, demanded the coverage be scrapped and accused Malatsi of looking for a “scape-bot”. Public works minister Dean Macpherson, a fellow DA cupboard minister, leapt to his defence.
Know-how investor Stafford Masie had earlier printed an open letter by means of TechCentral warning that the coverage risked “regulating away” South Africa’s participation within the world AI financial system by prioritising governance over infrastructure funding.
The withdrawn draft proposed the creation of seven new establishments, together with a Nationwide AI Fee, an AI Ethics Board, an AI Insurance coverage Superfund and a Nationwide AI Security Institute.
Malatsi individually informed MPs the division has begun finalising the audio-visual companies and media coverage, and can advance the Digital Communications Modification Invoice to modernise the licensing regime and handle convergence within the sector.
However till a revised AI coverage is gazetted, South Africa stays and not using a formal nationwide framework to manipulate the expertise – at a time when AI is more and more woven into each public administration and private-sector workflows.
Learn: Two extra officers suspended over AI coverage debacle
The minister insisted on Tuesday that the redraft underneath Rosman and the opposite members of the panel will get the nation again on monitor after the embarrassing setback with the primary draft. – (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media
Get breaking information from TechCentral on WhatsApp. Enroll right here.
