In this episode of ITWeb TV, communications minister Solly Malatsi reflects on his time as head of SA’s ICT-focused department, finding synergies as a leader in the Government of National Unity, Starlink matters, rationalising entities and if there’s hope for the embattled SA Post Office.
South Africa is getting closer to having a finalised national artificial intelligence (AI) policy. So said communications and digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi, in a wide-ranging interview with ITWeb TV.
Since July 2024, Malatsi has been at the helm as the executive authority in the department charged with leading SA’s digital transformation through policy and a regulatory environment. His department also exercises oversight of 11 state-owned entities.
During the interview, the minister spoke about the governance challenges with the boards of some of the entities within the ambit of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT).
He also discussed leapfrogging SA’s digital inclusion, “major” adjustments to make the SA Post Office (SAPO) relevant again, and the impact of the three-decades-old Electronics Communications Act (ECA) in the age of technological shifts.
The minister highlighted the importance of repositioning ICT policies to spur economic growth for job creation, and revealed SA’s standing when it comes to a national policy for AI.
See also
“We rapidly need to have an AI policy as a country, and I’m going to make sure we definitely have one,” he exclusively told ITWeb TV, without revealing specific timelines.
It’s been nearly three years since OpenAI catapulted its ChatGPT platform into the public’s hands, bringing worldwide attention to AI and subsequently generative AI.
With AI infiltrating almost every industry, policymakers across the global community have increasingly focused on its regulation. This, to ensure AI is created responsibly and ethically from the start, to ensure citizens, businesses and governments are protected from some of the potential AI risks.
In the European Union (EU), standards for AI regulation and enforcement worldwide have been set up through the EU AI Act. The legislation is described as one that specifically regulates AI technologies and opens vast opportunities for innovation across various sectors globally.
Closer to home, African nations Nigeria, Mauritius and Rwanda are already on their way to developing their own AI strategies and policies.
While South Africa has always been lauded for being at the forefront of technological development and adoption within the global south community, the country doesn’t yet have a national AI roadmap in place.
Solly Malatsi, minister in the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies. (Photograph by Lesley Moyo)
Following the release of a draft national AI discussion document in April 2024, Malatsi’s DCDT followed up by publishing the SA National AI Policy Framework, calling for feedback from the ICT industry and other stakeholders.
According to law firm Michalsons, the National AI Policy will be the foundation for creating AI regulations and potentially an AI Act in SA.
However, there hasn’t been reported progress since the national policy framework for AI was published for consultation last year.
The minister said there hasn’t been an intentional hold up, rather SA’s compliance and consultation approach to policy development is multi-layered.
Those processes, he noted, often “unnecessarily” delay finalisation. “The framework goes out for [public] comment; depending on the number of comments received, those must be integrated as well. It then gets taken through the Cabinet cluster process, even the official departmental channels and then eventually it goes to Cabinet. Only after this can it be processed in Parliament as a Bill.
“You’ll be glad to know that in terms of the incorporation or review of those comments, that process is done. It is now due to be served in one of the next upcoming Cabinet meetings.”
Given how AI technology has advanced since the release of the national policy framework, it begs the question whether what policymakers have crafted speaks to the current landscape.
Malatsi explained: “That’s why it was important that we started with the framework and then let society and all the key players make contributions to that. Once you finalise that, from where it’s been approved by Cabinet, it then means we can start engaging with the experts in the field about fine-tuning the policy.”
Since Malatsi’s leadership takeover at the DCDT, no other topic has been as hotly debated as Starlink’s possible entry into the country.
This follows the draft policy directive gazetted by the minister, to consider the role of equity equivalent investment programmes (EEIPs) in the ICT sector as a mechanism to accelerate broadband access.
Current legislation doesn’t allow companies that can contribute to SA’s transformation goals in ways other than traditional ownership, to qualify for individual licences under the ECA. Licence approval requires that a company must be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged groups.
EEIPs are a mechanism through which international companies can secure empowerment status without having to sell a proportion of the entity to black-owned entities.
Given the complexity and interest in the matter, the official public consultation process garnered more than 19 000 submissions, the DCDT revealed in July.
According to the minister, his department is “almost” done sifting through the bulk of the submissions.
“The team has been working to review all the submissions and doing an analysis of them. The approach there has been simply to give every submission the due respect it deserves, by going through it and then doing the analysis that will inform the final policy. We’ll finalise this in the upcoming weeks, so that we finalise that policy directive for ICASA’s final adjudication.
“In the next few weeks, we’ll be done. As we have done every step of the way, once we are done with the analysis of the submissions and we do the communication to ICASA, we’ll communicate publicly.”
SAPO, which opened in 1792 and is SA’s oldest postal service, falls under the DCDT’s umbrella. It is one of several DCDT entities that have received billions of rands in bailouts from the state, in the process of consolidation and often the subject of poor governance controls.
The state-owned entity, which is under business rescue, has been in dire financial straits for years and its once wide branch network has significantly shrunk. The staff contingent has also been reduced during this time.
Despite these challenges, the minister noted the immediate focus is on getting the post office out of business rescue and appointing a board.
However, he noted capital injection is the immediate challenge for SAPO.
“There is space for the post office in this period we live in. However, there must be recognition that for the post office to be relevant in that space, there are major adjustments in approach and strategy, and even in policy that need to be executed.
“It’s about innovation, it’s about the technology and adopting the technological infrastructure that then allows it to provide a reliable service.”
