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The new AI Policy proposes structures like an AI ethics board and ombud to oversee responsible development beyond just economic goals.
Government’s draft National Artificial Intelligence policy indicates a more serious rights conscious and constitutionally grounded approach. This is according to an AI communications expert, Nazareen Ebrahim.
The draft, which aims to promote responsible AI development, was published in the Government Gazette on Saturday.
The draft policy is based on the South Africa National Artificial Intelligence Policy Framework of August 2024.
Interested parties have been given until the end of business on June 10th to comment on the draft policy.
Minister of Communications & Digital Technologies, @SollyMalatsi has gazetted the Draft National AI Policy.
Please see link to the policy below: pic.twitter.com/Jdo9TaCFiY
— Dept of Communications & Digital Technologies (@CommsZA) April 10, 2026
Ebrahim shares some of her thoughts on the draft policy.
“The 2026 draft is much more firmly anchored in the constitution, the Bill of Rights and existing South African law and does explicitly reference legislations such as Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA), Cyber Crimes Act and other parts of our legal framework. This is important for us because what the document is showing is that this is being treated as a rights issue; a governance issue in a public interest. It’s not just innovation first or economic opportunity,” she says.
Ebrahim also says that the current draft policy builds on areas such as skills, infrastructure, research, ethics, privacy and transparency.
“Now this new draft goes further. It starts sketching out or looks at four different areas which I was happy to see, which I also looked for. The first was about the actual governance architecture. The draft refers to mechanisms such as an AI ethics board, an AI ombudsperson, a national AI commission and a risk-based approach to regulation. It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out in terms of accountability, how it should be governed,” she adds.
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