South Africa Appoints Expert Panel to Redraft AI Policy After Fabricated Citations Scandal

South Africa's communications minister Solly Malatsi unveiled a seven-member expert review panel on May 26 to guide the redrafting of the country's national AI policy, one month after the original draft was withdrawn when it was found to contain fictitious academic references generated by AI. Briefing parliament's portfolio committee on communications and digital technologies, Malatsi acknowledged that the department had failed to detect the fabricated citations before they were exposed by the online publication News24.

The new panel is chaired by Professor Benjamin Rosman of the Wits Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery Institute. Its members include Professor Vukosi Marivate of the University of Pretoria, Professor Alison Gillwald of Research ICT Africa, Bowmans partner Heather Irvine, National Planning Commissioner Dr Tshepo Feela, Dr Jabu Mtsweni of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and cyberlaw expert Lufuno Tshikalange. Acting deputy director-general Jeanette Morwane told the committee that the panel will meet within two weeks to begin its work, with a consolidated report expected by August 2026 and a revised draft to be submitted to Cabinet by November 2026. The target for public consultation is January 2027.

Malatsi described the lapse as a massive oversight and a failure of transparency around the use of AI in formulating the policy. "There was massive oversight and nondisclosure around the use of AI in the formulation of the policy and, most importantly, in the references that would therefore not be traced," he said. Director-general Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani called the episode highly regrettable and said restoring the credibility of the department and government was now a priority. Two officials have been placed on precautionary suspension pending an investigation.