The Western Cape Department of Infrastructure has signed a five-year memorandum with the Geneva-based AI for Developing Countries Forum, committing to responsible AI use in infrastructure planning and delivery — and naming the decolonisation of AI among its focus areas.
The agreement was signed by DOI Head of Department Adv. Chantal Smith and AIFOD co-founder Tianze Zhang. The province will host the next AIFOD Summit in Cape Town in April 2027.
What the agreement covers
The partnership will explore how AI can support the Western Cape Infrastructure Framework 2050, Infrastructure Strategy 2050 and Infrastructure Implementation Plan 2050. Initial focus areas:
- AI in infrastructure planning, project preparation, monitoring and decision-making across the full lifecycle
- Strengthening the DOI’s Single Integrated Infrastructure Project Pipeline and investment readiness
- Human-centred, accountable AI, with a focus on the decolonialisation of AI and African values such as Ubuntu
- Exploring how AIFOD’s Future AI Investment Responsibility certification and governance model could guide DOI’s AI investments
- Broadening participation by enterprises and technology providers
- Peer learning, research and capability building
- Western Cape participation in international forums convened by AIFOD
The decolonisation clause
Writing decolonisation and Ubuntu into a memorandum between a provincial infrastructure department and a Geneva organisation is not standard language for an agreement of this kind.
What it means in practice is undefined. Applied to infrastructure AI, it would presumably bear on whose data trains the models used for planning decisions, and whose assumptions are embedded in systems that determine where roads, clinics and housing go.
Whether the clause produces procurement requirements or remains a statement of principle is the thing to watch.
Who AIFOD is
The AI for Developing Countries Forum is Geneva-based and convenes international, private-sector and investment partners. Beyond that, the announcement offers little — no detail on its funding, membership or institutional status, and no indication of who administers its FAIR certification or what it certifies.
Zhang framed the partnership around the province’s sub-national status. “The Western Cape shows how a sub-national government can lead the Global South in putting responsible AI to work for infrastructure and people.”
That framing is worth noting. A provincial government signing a five-year international AI agreement is unusual, and it arrives while South Africa’s national AI policy remains unwritten.
What the signatories say
“This partnership provides an opportunity to strengthen how we translate the Western Cape’s long-term infrastructure priorities into implementable, investment-ready projects,” said Smith. “Through joint research, peer learning and practical cooperation, we will explore how responsible AI can improve planning, coordination and decision-making.”
Provincial Minister for Infrastructure Tertuis Simmers linked it to delivery outcomes. “Infrastructure must create opportunity, connect communities and support inclusive economic growth. Our partnership with AIFOD opens opportunities to explore how responsible AI and digital innovation can help us achieve these ambitions, guided by the needs of our communities.”
The summit
AIFOD will organise and host the Cape Town Summit in April 2027, convening international, private-sector and investment partners around responsible AI, infrastructure innovation, institutional capability and investment.
The DOI will lead a Western Cape Infrastructure Ministerial Roundtable and contribute to the summit’s AI infrastructure programme.
What isn’t in it
No funding, no systems, no pilot projects and no timeline beyond the summit date. Every focus area is framed as exploration rather than commitment.
That is normal for a memorandum. It also means the measurable output between now and April 2027 is a conference.
