The South African government has officially committed to a 2027 deadline for finalising its National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy, marking a decisive step in the country’s journey toward becoming a regulated digital powerhouse.
The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) confirmed the timeline during a briefing to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Tuesday. Officials revealed that the National AI Policy Framework has already been developed and is currently undergoing Cabinet processes for approval.
A Roadmap for Digital Sovereignty
The proposed policy aims to move South Africa beyond being a mere consumer of global technology to becoming a primary developer and regulator of AI within the African context. According to the DCDT, finalising the policy by the 2026/2027 financial year will provide the legal certainty required to attract high-tech investment while protecting citizens’ rights.
“This is about creating a predictable environment for innovation,” said a department representative. “By 2027, South Africa will have a comprehensive statutory framework that governs how AI is deployed in both the public and private sectors.”
The 14 Pillars of the AI Strategy
The upcoming policy is built upon 14 strategic pillars identified by the Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (PC4IR). These pillars serve as the foundation for the legislative drafting process:
-
Infrastructure & Data: Building the localised cloud computing power and data centres necessary to train AI models.
-
Ethical Governance: Implementing strict “Human-in-the-Loop” requirements to ensure AI decisions remain under human oversight.
-
Indigenous Language Integration: Developing Large Language Models (LLMs) that support South Africa’s 12 official languages.
-
Economic Inclusion: Ensuring AI tools are accessible to Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) to prevent a widening digital divide.
Addressing Modern Threats
A significant portion of the legislative focus leading up to 2027 will be on security. The DCDT highlighted the urgent need to regulate deepfakes and algorithmic bias, citing their potential to disrupt democratic processes and social cohesion.
The government is also establishing an AI Hub at the University of Johannesburg, which will act as the primary research and development centre to test policy applications before they are codified into law.
Global Alignment
The announcement comes as South Africa continues to play a leading role in the G20 AI Task Force. By setting a 2027 target, the government seeks to align its domestic laws with international standards while maintaining a “middle path” approach that balances the strict regulation seen in the EU with the market-driven growth of the US and India.
Public consultations are expected to begin later this year, allowing industry stakeholders, legal experts, and civil society to weigh in on the draft before it transitions into a final White Paper.
Senior Reporter/Editor
Bio: Ugochukwu is a freelance journalist and Editor at AIbase.ng, with a strong professional focus on investigative reporting. He holds a degree in Mass Communication and brings extensive experience in news gathering, reporting, and editorial writing. With over a decade of active engagement across diverse news outlets, he contributes in-depth analytical, practical, and expository articles exploring artificial intelligence and its real-world impact. His seasoned newsroom experience and well-established information networks provide AIbase.ng with credible, timely, and high-quality coverage of emerging AI developments.