Pretoria – The Minister for the Public Service and Administration, Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi, launched the Batho Pele AI Chatbot on Friday. The chatbot is a new digital tool designed to provide citizens and public servants with instant access to public service policy updates, circulars, legislation, and other essential information.
“Today, we launch more than technology. Today we launch a new way of keeping our oldest promise: ‘Batho Pele – People First,’” said Minister Buthelezi, noting that for 29 years Batho Pele has demanded that government be present for citizens with information, clarity, and answers.
This initiative is the birthchild of a public-private partnership between the DPSA, Meta, and Juicetel, and represents a solid step forward in the government’s efforts to modernise public service delivery through the innovative use of technology. As the chatbot develops, it will be able to process information and respond in nine South African official languages, and will support citizens, public servants, particularly those in corporate services and management roles, in reducing the time spent searching for policy updates, legislation, and circulars.
The Minister was emphatic that the tool does not replace human judgment. “This Chatbot does not make decisions. It does not replace human judgment. It supports public servants to make better, faster, and more informed decisions, with empathy and accountability that only a human can provide,” he said, adding that the system will be deployed with constitutional values of transparency, accountability, privacy, security, and fairness at its centre.
Looking ahead, the Minister described the launch as a foundation that could be scaled across national departments, provinces, municipalities, and public entities, and eventually extended to frontline services such as Health, Home Affairs, SASSA, Education, and Local Government. He also pointed to South Africa’s potential to lead on digital governance across the continent, describing the partnership as a possible blueprint for other African governments.
Commenting, Thabo Makenete, Head of Public Policy in the Southern Africa Region for Meta, said: “Batho Pele AI shows what’s possible when government, the private sector, and local innovators work together to put AI to practical use. By making public service information accessible in nine South African languages through a simple conversational interface, this platform helps public servants spend less time searching for policy guidance and more time serving citizens. We’re proud to support this initiative alongside DPSA and Juicetel, and to see Meta’s Llama models powering locally built solutions that address real challenges on the continent.”
The Minister thanked Meta and Juicetel for their collaboration with the government and encouraged other departments to leverage similar technologies to improve service delivery, while stressing that responsible use of AI must be guided by proper governance, and that public servants retain responsibility for ensuring accurate information is disseminated.
