AI governance in Zambia

AI Governance for Africa > Part 2 > Section 6

This section expands on the state of AI governance in Southern Africa by turning to developments in Zambia.

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Zambia’s government has called on African countries to embrace digitisation in order to further development,^[1] and appears to be taking steps to implement this itself. In March 2024, Zambia endorsed the UN’s non-binding resolution on AI.^[2] Importantly, the resolution emphasises that Member States should refrain from using AI systems which do not comply with international human rights law.

In June 2024, the Ministry of Technology and Science announced that Zambia’s national AI strategy was now complete and would be launched on 24 October 2024, Zambia’s independence day.^[3] A draft version of the strategy is not available online. In announcing the completion of the strategy, the Minister stated that government believes AI will create alternative jobs and support ongoing efforts to accelerate the country’s mineral exploration.^[4]

The Electronic Government Act is important for present purposes as it provides eight guidelines which underscore the country’s approach to e-government.^[5] Section 2, which sets out the guidelines, provides –

Article 17 of the Constitution protects the right to privacy.^[6] Relatedly, the Data Protection Act was passed in 2021.^[7] Section 4 of the Data Protection Act establishes the Data Protection Commission (DPC), which has not yet made a publicised finding on automated processing.^[8] Section 62 of the Act provides data subjects with the right not to be subject to automated decision-making, including on profiling, where this will create a legal consequence. This, however, does not apply where the decision is necessary for contractual purposes, has been authorised by law, or is made with the data subject’s consent.

From a policy perspective, Zambia’s National ICT policy 2022 – 2026 is indicative of the government’s desire to bolster the ICT sector.^[9] The policy is fairly brief. The crux of the policy is the implementation matrix, which sets out objectives and measures relating to the country’s digital economy objectives, implementation timeframes, indicators, and flags the institutions responsible for implementing the stipulated measures. The policy mentions AI in passing as emergent technology that may enable advancements in economic and human development.

Separately, the National Digital Transformation Strategy 2023 – 2027^[10] includes one goal on AI: to train 5,000 ICT professionals on AI, robotics, machine learning, blockchain, and/or big data. The parties responsible for this are the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Technical Education, Vocational, and Entrepreneurship Training institutions, other academic institutions, and the private sector.

The aforementioned policies should be read with the Strategic Plan 2022 – 2024 formulated by the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA).^[11] ZICTA is a statutory body that regulates the ICT sector. While the strategic plan also only mentions AI superficially, it acknowledges the need to review existing ICT legislation, regulations, and guidelines. It further notes the need to address low digital literacy.

Recently, ZICTA has been proactive in gathering data on the state of AI in the country. In May 2024, ZICTA, the BongoHive, and the Ubuntu AI Community announced a partnership for the purposes of surveying to assess Zambia’s AI landscape.^[12] The survey was to be distributed to 800 participants from the private sectors, public institutions, and academic, and development agencies. The purpose of the survey is to inform national AI strategies and policies and contribute toward their resilience. A separate survey, facilitated with the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), was sent to 80 journalists from various provinces in order to understand the use of AI tools in the media sector.^[13] The survey revealed that an overwhelming majority of respondents, 78 percent, support the regulation of AI tools.

While Zambia does not have a dedicated expert body on AI, it has established a government department, the Smart Zambia Institute, that is responsible for matters pertaining to e-governance.^[14] The Smart Zambia Institute falls under the Office of the President and is mandated to develop e-governance systems that service government (G2G), business (G2B), and citizens (G2C).

The ongoing efforts to bolster AI governance in Zambia are commendable, yet it remains to be seen whether documents such as the recently finalised AI national strategy adopt a rights-based approach.

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