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Published (non-binding, current)Non-binding · Strategy / action plan

South Africa National Artificial Intelligence Policy Framework

Record ZA-02

Issued by
Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT)
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Level · region
National · Sub-Saharan Africa
Published / adopted
2024-10
Language
English

Summary

DCDT discussion document for public comment, the first step towards a National AI Policy, which it says will be the basis for AI regulations and potentially an AI Act. It sets out twelve pillars: talent, digital infrastructure, research and innovation, public-sector implementation, ethical AI guidelines, privacy and data protection, safety and security (cybersecurity protocols and frameworks to identify and mitigate AI risks), transparency and explainability, fairness and bias mitigation, human control of technology (human-in-the-loop for critical decisions), professional responsibility (a practitioners' code of conduct) and cultural and human values.

Safety topics

human oversighttransparency & labellingaccountability & liabilitypublic-sector use

Status notes

Cover dated October 2024; comments were invited until 29 November 2024. It describes itself as a step towards a National AI Policy that would be the basis for AI regulations and potentially an AI Act. The Draft South Africa National AI Policy gazetted on 10 April 2026 (ZA-01), which calls this document the framework of August 2024, was based on it and on the 32 submissions received on it; that draft was later withdrawn.

Sources

Open the official source https://oecd.ai/en/dashboards/policy-initiatives/south-africa-national-artificial-intelligence-policy-framework

Secondary source: https://api.oecd.ai/storage//policy-initiatives/Apr2026/117ojp2dncmoa49kzd-South%20Africa%20_National%20AI%20Policy%20Framework_lowres%20%281%29.pdf

Local copy

Archived. Last attempt 2026-10-18 04:08:25 UTC

Official source (third-party copy, not published) archive/ZA-02/2026-10-18/official.html
Retrieved 2026-10-18 03:28:23 UTC
SHA-256 e660a5861faae6a17e266e7c685b8d0f79ff04398e4dc8aca934ca523cd776aa
Linked document (PDF) (third-party copy, not published) archive/ZA-02/2026-10-12/document-1.pdf
Retrieved 2026-10-12 04:32:56 UTC
SHA-256 7721319ce669b90d3d22bb3da78d480fc94d950dbf093bd5d706c19d14f18e8b
Secondary source (third-party copy, not published) archive/ZA-02/2026-10-12/secondary.pdf
Retrieved 2026-10-12 04:32:58 UTC
SHA-256 7721319ce669b90d3d22bb3da78d480fc94d950dbf093bd5d706c19d14f18e8b

Verification

B
Another official source, such as an announcement by the issuer, confirms the title, date and status. checked 2026-10-18 · alternative-official-url-fetched
Recheck of 18 Oct 2026. Stored: the OECD.AI policy-initiative page (12 and 18 Oct 2026; only the site menu differs between the two copies) and the OECD-hosted PDF of the framework (12 Oct 2026, 20 pages). The PDF confirms the title, the department, the October 2024 date, the comment deadline of 29 November 2024 and the twelve pillars; the OECD.AI page confirms publication in October 2024 by the department. No copy on a South African government site is stored, so the record rests on another official body's copy. The earlier notes cited law-firm and press accounts of an August 2024 circulation and of release dates in October 2024; these are not stored and are no longer cited, and the gazetted draft policy of April 2026 (ZA-01, stored for that record) itself calls this the framework of August 2024. A department statement that a revised draft would go to Cabinet by November 2026, also in the earlier notes, is not among the stored files and is no longer cited. Nothing stored shows the framework withdrawn.
Second check: Independent check by Claude Code (claude-sonnet-5-5), 2026-10-18: 7 field(s) supported.

History

  1. 2026-10-18notes: Cover dated October 2024; comments were invited until 29 November 2024. Law-firm → Cover dated October 2024; comments were invited until 29 November 2024. It descr — rewritten: the August 2024 dating now rests on the gazetted draft policy (ZA-01) instead of law-firm and press accounts, which are not stored; the department's statement on a revised draft (not in a stored file) and the remark that the framework was not withdrawn (an absence) are dropped from the notes; the framework's own aim of AI regulations and possibly an AI Act added2026-10-18-recheck-mena-africa-1 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)

Related records

South Africa Draft National AI Policy (withdrawn) South Africa · Revoked / withdrawn

Citation

Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT). South Africa National Artificial Intelligence Policy Framework. 2024-10. https://oecd.ai/en/dashboards/policy-initiatives/south-africa-national-artificial-intelligence-policy-framework. Status: Published (non-binding, current); verified 2026-10-18 (level B). Local copy archive/ZA-02/2026-10-18/official.html retrieved 2026-10-18 03:28:23 UTC, SHA-256 e660a5861faae6a17e266e7c685b8d0f79ff04398e4dc8aca934ca523cd776aa. Every AI Policy Ever, version 1.18 (snapshot 2026-10-18), record ZA-02.

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