On approximately 27 April 2026, Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi withdrew the Draft National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy that had been approved by Cabinet on 25 March 2026 and gazetted on 10 April 2026. The withdrawal followed revelations — first reported by News24 — that the 86-page policy document contained at least six fabricated academic citations generated by AI tools and included without verification. Authors were credited with foundational research they had never conducted.
The scandal triggered a cross-party parliamentary backlash, with the Communications Committee chairperson urging withdrawal, and prompted political debate about the use of AI-assisted drafting in government without adequate fact-checking protocols. Minister Malatsi acknowledged that “AI-generated citations were included without proper verification” as the most plausible explanation.
The withdrawal resets the consultation process: no revised draft or timeline for republication had been announced as of the research date. South Africa must now restart substantial portions of its AI policy development process. The public comment period that had been open until 10 June 2026 was effectively nullified.
Who it affects: Businesses, civil society organisations, universities, TVET colleges, and government bodies that had been preparing submissions. The DCDT must now revise and re-gazette a corrected draft before any binding framework can proceed.
What is notably missing (after withdrawal): All the proposed AI literacy, curriculum, skills training, and community AI centre provisions from the draft remain unenforceable. South Africa’s formal AI governance framework reverts to the 2024 National AI Policy Framework, which carries no statutory force. The institutional credibility of the policy process has been damaged. The dim 10 score for South Africa is unchanged — that score reflects the 2024 Framework and earlier advisory structures, not the withdrawn draft.