Stafford Masie: South Africa risks regulating away its AI future

Tech investor Stafford Masie has publicly criticized South Africa's draft National AI Policy in an open letter to communications minister Solly Malatsi. He argues the policy is fundamentally misordered — proposing seven new governance bodies before committing to compute infrastructure or energy supply. Masie warns that AI-driven automation threatens mass displacement of low-skilled workers in an already unequal society, and that South Africa's current energy surplus (300+ days without load shedding) represents a time-limited opportunity to attract global hyperscaler investment. He calls for infrastructure and incentives first, governance second, and recommends replacing the seven proposed institutions with a single National AI Office, declaring AI infrastructure a national strategic priority, and launching emergency talent retention programs.