South Africa aims for R38 billion in savings to fund programs
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The South African government plans to save R38 billion over the next three years through its Targeted and Responsible Savings (Tars) program.
This initiative builds on R12 billion in savings already identified in the 2026 budget and will redirect funds to programs supporting child nutrition, safety, economic development, and efforts to combat violence against women. The Tars program seeks to eliminate ineffective or low-priority programs and improve overall spending efficiency.
The government projects savings of R13.1 billion in social grant expenditure by improving administration and verifying beneficiary information using biometric data. Officials expect the number of social grant recipients to decrease from 17.8 million in 2026/27 to 17.1 million by 2029/30, contributing to the overall savings target. Additionally, the government will pause the human settlements development grant, expecting to save R7.8 billion while it develops a new approach.
National departments will contribute R11.7 billion in savings through modernization, reduced administrative costs, and the elimination of duplicated rural development programs. The government also approved 27,450 applications for an early retirement and voluntary exit program, anticipating net savings of R4.3 billion in 2027/28, increasing to R4.6 billion by 2029/30. An audit of payroll systems identified 4,323 potentially fraudulent cases of “ghost workers.”
