Data will lead to better South African policy making, says National Treasury

The National Treasury, together with its partners, has launched the third phase of the Southern Africa – Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED) research programme. This reaffirms a shared commitment to ensuring that data will lead to better South African policy making.

SA-TIED is a research-policy partnership between the National Treasury, the South African Revenue Service (SARS), and the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER). Financial support for SA-TIED is provided by the European Union and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Third phase launched

The third phase was launched on 24 March. Consequently, this phase aims to close the gap between research and policy implementation. It will do this by embedding evidence directly within government systems and building analytical capacity.

‘At its core, SA-TIED is anchored on a simple and yet powerful principle – good policy must be grounded in credible evidence. Better evidence leads to better policy, and better policy leads to better outcomes for our people,’ said Deputy Minister of Finance, David Masondo.

SA-TIED second phase achievements

Evidentially, the SA-TIED second phase produced a substantial body of evidence directly informing South Africa’s policy priorities. Altogether, researchers published more than 130 research papers. A substantial 65% of the papers were authored or co-authored by South African researchers. Concurrently, 63% featured females as authors or co-authors.

Additionally, the phase trained more than 200 participants in advanced economic modelling, econometrics, spatial analysis, and data science. These skills will endure and help future policy making.

National Treasury Secure Data Facility

The National Treasury Secure Data Facility (NTSDF), is one of the first such institutions in the Global South. This provides anonymized administrative tax data for policy making.

As it is such a pioneer, several countries are already seeking to replicate the approach.

The SA-TIED research addressed six core areas. Firstly, enterprise development for job creation and growth. Secondly, public revenue mobilisation for inclusive development. Thirdly, structural transformation, labour markets, and inequality dynamics. Fourthly, macro-fiscal analysis and policy modelling. Fifthly, food, energy, and water in the context of climate change. Lastly, reform implementation and delivery.

The aim is to raise South Africa’s economic growth from only 0.4% in 2023 to something closer to 3% over the medium term. A growth rate of 2.0% year-on-year was achieved in the third quarter 2025.

SA-TIED Phase Three

SA-TIED Phase Three will run from 2026 to 2029. It will consolidate and expand on the Phase Two gains. It will strengthen the link between research and policy implementation. Phase Two will also expand access to administrative datasets. Additionally, it will build state capability through training, skills development, and greater integration of research within government.

Phase Three emphatically focuses on public expenditure efficiency. This reflects the reality that, in a constrained fiscal environment, the question is no longer only how much the state spends, but how effectively it spends.

This is part of the government’s drive to improve the efficiency of the public service and combat crime and corruption. The main instrument of this drive is the Targeted and Responsible Savings (TARS) initiative.

The TARS initiative announced in the 2025 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) identified R12 billion in savings over the medium term.

TARS is part of a series of government efforts under way to rationalise the operations of the state. The aim is to improve the effectiveness of service delivery. It will eliminate waste, address underperformance and reduce duplication.