South Africa is unleashing its own version of the US Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to cut programs deemed as wasteful or not aligned with government policy.
A mechanism called Targeted and Responsible Savings, or TARS, will be established to “identify and remove low-priority or underperforming programs from the budget to reduce aggregate expenditure,” the National Treasury said in new spending guidelines published on Wednesday. Where appropriate, funding will be reallocated to more important budget priorities, the Treasury said.
“This initiative forms part of the broader budget reform agenda aimed at ensuring that the national budget reflects South Africa’s most pressing needs and highest-impact interventions,” according to the guidelines, which are the result of a review process started last year to improve budget efficiency and reduce wasteful expenditure.
TARS will identify a list of programs based on historical and current performance, as well as alignment with the government’s development plans. Once the TARS list is approved by the cabinet, each program will face a spending review that may lead to “de-implementation” in the 2026/27 fiscal year, according to the guidelines.
Departments subject to spending reviews will have to identify potential efficiency gains and savings or demonstrate that the projects in question are delivering value for money, to escape the axe.
“Cabinet might choose to close, scale back, or, in some cases, retain programs with efficiency enhancements, with the aim to redirect the funds toward current spending pressures,” the document states.
