Communications minister Solly Malatsi has appointed an independent panel of AI researchers, lawyers and governance specialists to rebuild South Africa’s draft national AI policy, a document he was forced to withdraw last month after academic citations in its reference list turned out to have been fabricated by a generative AI tool.
“We cannot discuss the issue of policy without discussing the matter of the draft national artificial intelligence policy, and the revelation that generative AI was used irresponsibly during the drafting of this policy,” Malatsi told MPs on Tuesday as he tabled the department of communications & digital technologies’ R2.55-billion budget for the 2026/2027 financial year.
“We will be enforcing an internal responsible AI use policy, and review our policy development process, to ensure that this type of occurrence does not happen again. South Africa deserves better,” he said.
The panel will be chaired by Wits University AI researcher Benjamin Rosman. Rosman was named as one of Time’s 100 most influential thinkers in AI in 2025.
Other members include professor Vukosi Marivate of the University of Pretoria, Research ICT Africa’s Alison Gillwald, attorney Heather Irvine, Tshepo Feela, the CSIR’s Jabu Mtsweni and Lufuno Tshikalange. The group spans AI research, law and digital governance.
Malatsi said the panel has been tasked with ensuring that the revised policy is based on the best available evidence and aligned with South Africa’s priorities before it is reintroduced for public comment. No timeline was given for the new draft.
The original draft AI policy was approved by cabinet on 25 March and gazetted on 10 April for public comment. It was withdrawn within two weeks of its release.
Fake citations
A least six of the 67 entries in the document’s reference list were drawn from journals that did not exist or attributed to journals that had never published 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 never appeared.
During his address to parliament on Tuesday, Malatsi described the use of generative AI in the drafting process as irresponsible and acknowledged that the episode had damaged the credibility of the document. Withdrawal, he said, had been the only viable option.
Read: The AI policy that AI broke
The fallout has been considerable. ANC MP Khusela Diko, who chairs parliament’s communications portfolio committee, demanded the policy be scrapped and accused Malatsi of hunting for a “scape-bot”. Public works minister Dean Macpherson, a fellow DA cabinet minister, leapt to his defence.
Technology investor Stafford Masie had earlier published an open letter through TechCentral warning that the policy risked “regulating away” South Africa’s participation in the global AI economy by prioritising governance over infrastructure investment.
The withdrawn draft proposed the creation of seven new institutions, including a National AI Commission, an AI Ethics Board, an AI Insurance Superfund and a National AI Safety Institute.
Malatsi separately told MPs the department has begun finalising the audio-visual services and media policy, and will advance the Electronic Communications Amendment Bill to modernise the licensing regime and address convergence in the sector.
But until a revised AI policy is gazetted, South Africa remains without a formal national framework to govern the technology – at a time when AI is increasingly woven into both public administration and private-sector workflows.
Read: Two more officials suspended over AI policy debacle
The minister insisted on Tuesday that the redraft under Rosman and the other members of the panel will get the country back on track after the embarrassing setback with the first draft. – (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media
Get breaking news from TechCentral on WhatsApp. Sign up here.