The South African government is resuscitating its consultation process on the National Cloud and Data Policy, for which a draft policy document was published in April 2021. This was announced by the new Minister for the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele, during the budget vote speech on 18 May 2023.
According to the Minister, “The National Cloud and Data Policy will outline guidelines for government departments for utilising cloud services appropriately while adhering to data privacy and security measures as agreed upon with relevant providers”. In addition, the policy seeks to strengthen the capacity of the state to deliver services to its citizens, ensure informed policy development based on evidence and data analytics, and promote of South Africa’s data sovereignty and security.
The 2021 draft version of the National Data and Cloud Policy sought to create an enabling environment for the provision of cloud and data services to ensure socio-economic development for inclusivity. It seeks to address the following challenges: inadequate and uneven digital infrastructure; a lack of access to cloud and data services by citizens; and fragmented policies and regulatory frameworks designed to support an economy driven by data and cloud services. In addition, it mentions the role of foreign multinationals, highlighting the loss of local data ownership and concerns over high barriers to entry for new entrants, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The 2021 draft policy is expected to be republished shortly for public comments before the end of the year and Access Partnership will continue to provide updates as and when more details are released.
Should you wish to engage with this consultation process or gain insights into regulatory and policy developments in the tech and digital space in South Africa or the African continent more broadly, please contact Wydeman Coetzee at Wydeman.coetzee@accesspartnership.com and Jan Magoro at jan.magoro@accesspartnership.com.
