Public Interest SA commends Minister Malatsi and DCDT for decisive handling of AI policy lapse

Cape Town, South Africa. Sunday, 27 April 2026  — Public Interest SA commends Minister Solly Malatsi and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) for the swift and transparent withdrawal of the Draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy following confirmation that it contained fictitious references.

The Minister’s acknowledgement that the lapse “compromised the integrity and credibility of the draft policy,” and his commitment to consequence management, reflect a level of accountability that is too often absent in public administration.

It bears emphasising that this discredited draft did not emerge in isolation. It was processed through Cabinet and subjected to the expected layers of governmental “rigour” prior to publication for public comment.

Any attempt to localise blame solely at the feet of the Minister would therefore be misplaced. Responsibility must be shared across the broader Government of National Unity, which collectively endorsed the process that produced this outcome.

Public Interest SA further welcomes the Minister’s recognition that this failure underscores the necessity of vigilant human oversight in the use of artificial intelligence in governance. That lesson — though costly — may yet prove invaluable.

However, commendation must be matched by corrective action.

We call on Minister Malatsi to ensure that the accounting officer is directed, in terms of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), to:

• Quantify and recover any wasteful expenditure incurred in the development and publication of the flawed draft policy; and

• Institute firm consequence management against all officials responsible for drafting, verification, and quality assurance failures.

To this end, Public Interest SA has addressed a formal letter to Minister Solly Malatsi underscoring the gravity of non-compliance with the PFMA, and urging him to act with urgency to ensure that any wasteful expenditure is recovered and that no exceptions are made for any individual found responsible for the misuse of scarce public resources, " said Tebogo Khaas, chairperson, Public Interest SA

South Africa deserves a digital policy framework grounded in integrity, rigour, and accountability. The manner in which this debacle has been handled is a step in the right direction — but it must now be followed through to its logical conclusion.

END