The inaugural Defence Industry Lekgotla has adopted a set of resolutions aimed at revitalising South Africa’s defence and security sector through a mix of coordinated government action, export-led growth and technology-focused innovation. The three-day event at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria, organised by the Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Industries Association of South Africa (AMD), ran from 20 to 22 July and convened representatives from the Department of Defence (DoD), Armscor, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), industry, academia and other government departments.
What the resolutions cover
The resolutions, set out in a formal document from the Lekgotla, target six interlinked work streams: innovation; localisation and exports; acquisition and procurement; strategic assets and partnerships; capacity-building and inclusivity; and financing. The aim is to address persistent problems cited throughout the defence economy, including fragmented procurement processes, underused intellectual property and constrained access to finance.
“By aligning legislation, funding, research infrastructure, procurement, and two-way engagement around priorities such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, space, data analytics, and cyber resilience, it is envisaged that sovereign capabilities will be strengthened, modernisation accelerated, advanced manufacturing and exports increased, while ensuring that South Africa’s defence sector remains innovative, sustainable, and responsive to future threats,” the Lekgotla resolutions document read.
The emphasis on specific technologies reflects a desire to move beyond legacy platforms towards capabilities that can underpin both national security and export competitiveness. Resolutions proposed in the innovation stream aim to create an "integrated and agile" defence innovation ecosystem to unlock intellectual property, research capacity and shared expertise across government, industry and universities.
Practical targets and institutional focus
Participants set measurable targets and deadlines for implementing solutions across the work streams. While the resolutions are strategic rather than legislative instruments, they are intended to guide coordinated action by the DoD, Armscor and partnering departments and institutions. Several recurring themes in the document underline the Lekgotla’s approach:
- Coordination: Reduce fragmentation in procurement and research by aligning priorities across government and industry.
- Commercialisation: Better manage and leverage intellectual property arising from defence R&D.
- Export focus: Use targeted policy and support to grow defence exports and access new markets.
- Technology emphasis: Prioritise investment and policy support for AI, robotics, space, data analytics and cyber resilience.
- Finance and capacity: Improve access to finance and build skills to support localisation and advanced manufacturing.
The document frames these actions as part of a broader objective: to make South Africa a more sovereign, competitive and inclusive defence industrial base that could position the country as a preferred defence trading partner on the continent.
Why this matters for South Africa’s tech and industrial policy
The Lekgotla’s outcomes connect defence policy to wider industrial and technology priorities. If implemented, the resolutions could increase public investment and procurement in high‑technology sectors, offer clearer pathways for university research to feed industry, and encourage private capital into defence R&D and manufacturing. For ordinary South Africans, the most tangible outcomes would be job creation in advanced manufacturing, improved skills development, and a deeper domestic supply chain for technologies that increasingly underpin everyday services — from satellite communications to cybersecurity.
However, the document also highlights the scale of the task: aligning legislation, funding streams and procurement practices across multiple departments is complex and requires sustained political and administrative commitment. The resolutions set a direction; delivery will depend on follow‑through by the DoD, Armscor, partner departments and industry to translate targets into funded programmes and procurement decisions.
The Lekgotla represents a notable step towards integrating defence priorities with national technology strategy. For the technology sector, the change to watch will be whether procurement and funding practices shift to favour local, high‑technology firms and whether intellectual property created in South Africa is retained and commercialised locally rather than exiting through foreign partnerships.
