GovTech 2026 marked 20 years of bringing government and the technology sector together. Hosted by the State IT Agency (Sita), the event has tracked the evolution of government technology since 2006, from connectivity and infrastructure to cloud, data, cybersecurity and shared digital services. For Huawei, the milestone was a chance to look ahead to turning these digital foundations into intelligence for South Africa’s public sector.
“AI can help government improve public services by automating routine tasks and supporting faster, data-driven decisions,” said Matamela Mashau, chief technology officer for enterprise network solutions at Huawei Sub-Saharan Africa. “The infrastructure required to run these workloads is an important part of enabling those applications.”
Digital infrastructure for better public services
South Africa’s digital future was a central theme at GovTech 2026. In his address, communications minister Solly Malatsi said South Africa has an opportunity to “become a strategic alternative global connectivity hub and digital gateway” between Africa, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia.
For Huawei, this means supporting the digital infrastructure government needs to deliver better services. Its participation at GovTech focused on how connectivity, cloud and AI can help government move from connected government to digital government to intelligent government.
Same service for every citizen
On the first day, Peng Lu, director of data centre solutions sales at Huawei South Africa, joined the Government Services and Cloud & Connectivity panel. He spoke about the value of a unified government service platform and how it could help citizens access public services from a phone or laptop, whether they live in a major city or a rural community.
He also described how shared government platforms could help departments work more efficiently, for example by using a common platform rather than each maintaining separate systems.
“Citizens need one platform to access government services, while departments need to be able to share the data needed to deliver those services,” said Lu. “One of the most important steps before GovTech 2027 is to deploy these shared platforms on a government on-premises cloud.”
AI that improves public services
On the second day, Mashau delivered a keynote on the infrastructure needed to run AI workloads in the public sector and how AI could be applied across government services. “AI can take routine administrative work off officials’ desks and route requests in hours rather than weeks,” said Mashau.
The keynote also highlighted practical uses for AI in education, meteorology and healthcare, including lesson planning, weather forecasting, diagnostics and drug discovery.
Mashau also outlined Huawei’s five-layer AI framework, spanning energy, chips, infrastructure, models and applications. “Huawei can assist government in building a national AI data centre that complies with South African law and supports data sovereignty,” he said.
Building shared capability together
On the final day, the closing panel focused on shared government cloud services. Siphiwe Matore, senior public sector business development manager at Huawei Cloud South Africa, joined representatives from Sita, the department of agriculture and eThekwini municipality.
Panellists discussed South Africa’s government private cloud ecosystem and the practical role shared platforms can play in reducing duplication across departments. Skills development and governance also featured strongly.
“The government private cloud ecosystem can provide a secure foundation for shared digital services across all spheres of government,” said Matore. “Huawei is sharing global expertise and lessons to support Sita and public-sector stakeholders as the ecosystem continues to evolve.”
A reference architecture for inclusive AI
At its exhibition stand, Huawei presented its Inclusive Government AI Reference Architecture for South Africa, designed to help government build AI capability and deploy it securely. It brings together on-premises computing, national foundation models, sector-specific applications, talent development and ecosystem partnerships, while sectoral AI platforms support more specific government operations.
Huawei and its partners have co-launched solutions across eight industry sectors, covering more than 20 common AI agent scenarios that can be adapted for local use.
As GovTech enters its third decade, Huawei says it remains committed to its long-standing work with Sita and other public-sector stakeholders, guided by its vision of AI for All: developing shared digital services that make a real difference for citizens.
About Huawei
Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. With 213 000 employees operating in more than 170 countries, we serve more than three billion people worldwide. Huawei is committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organisation for a fully connected, intelligent world. In 2025, Huawei generated C¥880.9-billion in revenue, reinvesting 21.8% (C¥192.3-billion) into R&D, with about 53.7% of its employees working in R&D. As a private company fully owned by its employees, Huawei focuses on customer-centric innovation and open collaboration to create lasting value and drive technological breakthroughs globally. For more information, visit Huawei South Africa online or follow Huawei on X, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.
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