South Africa must do more than connect people to the internet if it wants citizens to share in the economic gains of artificial intelligence (AI), the Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities said on 7 September 2026.
Move from access to agency, says deputy minister
Speaking at the Youth, AI and the Future of Work in South Africa Summit, hosted by the South African Digital Governance Forum at Wits University in Johannesburg, Mmapaseka Steve Letsike argued that policy must aim for deeper participation: not only to use AI, but to build, shape and govern it.
Letsike framed the challenge as three interlinked frontiers of inclusion: connection, capability and command. She said these go beyond the traditional digital divide of access and require investment in skills, agency and ownership so that marginalised groups — notably youth, women and people with disabilities — can influence how AI transforms work and society.
“Connection gets a person through the door, capability determines what they are able to do once they enter, [and] command is something deeper still. It is the ability to shape the technologies themselves; to build the enterprise, understand the algorithm, govern the data, own the intellectual property, participate in setting the rules and share meaningfully in the wealth that these technologies create,” Letsike said.
Why the focus matters for South Africa
The deputy minister warned that access to broadband alone will not guarantee economic inclusion. Initiatives such as SA Connect have expanded connectivity, but a household with Wi‑Fi or a young person with a smartphone may still lack the literacy or technical skills to navigate systems that increasingly rely on AI, she said.
Her call comes as sectors across the economy — finance, retail, agriculture, education, healthcare and government — begin to integrate AI tools into operations. That diffusion raises questions about labour displacement, bias in automated decision‑making, and who benefits from value created by data and algorithms.
Policy implications and practical steps
Letsike urged a policy approach that includes capacity building, inclusive education, and measures that enable ownership and governance. While she did not outline specific new programmes at the summit, her remarks framed the elements that policymakers, industry and civil society should coordinate on:
- Connection: expanding affordable, reliable broadband so people can participate online;
- Capability: improving digital and AI literacy so users understand tools and their impacts;
- Command: creating pathways for marginalised groups to develop, own and govern AI technologies.
The deputy minister’s framing suggests that future interventions will need to combine infrastructure, education and regulatory reforms to move from passive consumption of technology to active participation in the digital economy.
Questions for implementation
Key implementation questions remain. Who will pay for deeper capability building across provinces and in under‑resourced schools? How will regulations ensure that AI systems are audited for fairness and accessibility? And what incentives will encourage private sector investment in inclusive product design and local ownership of intellectual property?
These are practical policy challenges that require co‑ordination between national departments, provincial education and social development bodies, industry, universities and disability advocates. The summit, hosted by an academic forum at Wits University, provided a platform for those conversations but left operational details to follow.
Where this leaves citizens
For young people and other marginalised groups the deputy minister’s argument reframes the goal: it is not only to close the connectivity gap but to create conditions where South Africans can shape the technology economy. That includes learning how algorithms work, participating in governance forums, and securing a share of the economic value generated by new technologies.
The policy direction set out at the summit aligns with growing international debates about inclusive AI governance, but its success will depend on concrete programmes, adequate funding and sustained co‑operation between government, business and civil society.
