South Africa's Ramaphosa to Lead Silicon Valley Delegation November 15-21; Electoral Commission Sets Out Final Post-Election Steps

South Africa's government news agency SAnews, in its November 12 afternoon edition, carried two official items. President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead a high-level delegation to Silicon Valley in California from November 15 to 21, and the Electoral Commission (IEC) on the same day set out the remaining steps following the announcement of the 2026 Local Government Elections results, which will culminate in the final list of elected councillors being published in the Government Gazette.

The Silicon Valley delegation brings together representatives from government, academia, business, research institutions, technical experts and university students, as South Africa seeks to strengthen its super intelligence (SI) capabilities, attract investment and position itself in the rapidly evolving global technology landscape. Briefing the media at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the visit will provide an opportunity to learn from countries and institutions at the forefront of SI development, understand the associated risks and challenges, and consider how South Africa can build an enabling policy, regulatory and skills environment for responsible adoption.

The main programme runs from November 16 to 20. It opens with the Semafor: Silicon Valley and the World engagement on November 16, followed by Stanford University on November 17 for sessions with venture capital investors and SI faculty, including a presidential fireside chat and a robotics laboratory visit. On November 18 the delegation will be in San Jose for a workshop titled South Africa and the Future of AI, covering infrastructure, SI in government, safety and the future of work. On November 19 it visits Alphabet and Google, as well as Cisco, in Mountain View, and on November 20 it visits Palo Alto Networks and the Microsoft Experiential Centre in Santa Clara, focusing on cyber resilience and digital sovereignty. A central event is the South Africa AI Opportunity gathering, themed Building the African AI Economy: Infrastructure, Investment and Innovation.

Ministers travelling with the President cover Finance, International Relations and Cooperation, Science, Technology and Innovation, Trade, Industry and Competition, Communications and Digital Technologies, Electricity and Energy, Small Business Development and the Presidency. According to the Presidency, leading hyperscalers are planning approximately US$650 billion in SI capital expenditure in 2026, while venture capital investment in SI reached US$259 billion in 2025, three-quarters of it in the United States. Magwenya said South Africa seeks to harness the transformative potential of SI while safeguarding digital sovereignty, policy autonomy and data protection.

On the elections, the IEC said the results announced on Sunday, November 8 set in motion the remaining activities required to conclude the election cycle. Before the final names can be gazetted, the Commission must complete processes on party candidate lists and candidates assigned to more than one seat. On November 9 the Commission gave written notice to parties that had won more seats than the proportional representation candidates they had nominated; parties had until 17:00 on November 11 to supplement their lists, an opportunity to make up shortfalls only, not to change existing nominations. Candidates who qualify for more than one seat must choose one, and a name must be deleted from the list if no choice is made. Where ward candidates receive an equal number of votes, the result is determined by lot. There are 10,526 seats in the 2026 Local Government Elections. Municipal managers must convene the first meeting of their councils within 14 days after councillors have been declared elected. Of the 1,701 district council seats, 707, or 40 percent, have been filled through the district proportional representation ballot; the remaining 994 will be filled through the election of local council representatives to district councils, a process the Commission will manage.

(Source: SAnews)

Source: SAnews

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：南非政府大楼。GSM 固定图库。 / Photo: South African government buildings. GSM archive photo.

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