PRESS RELEASE: SA-TIED Phase II Launch

Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, has lauded the impact of SA-TIED Phase I in supporting evidence-based policy-making to help South Africa (SA) address some of its most pressing economic problems. He cited the example of SA’s COVID-19 response which was in part informed by the research and analysis which emanated from the SA-TIED programme. 

Minister Godongwana addressed a gathering in Pretoria today to mark the launch of the second phase of SA-TIED. The launch took the form of a panel discussion under the topic The challenge of economic inclusion in South Africa and the need to implement structural reforms. 

The Southern Africa – Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED) programme supports policy-making for inclusive growth and economic transformation in the Southern Africa region. It’s a collaboration between the National Treasury of South Africa, the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), and many other governmental and research organizations in South Africa, implemented with partial funding from the European Union. In this second phase, SA-TIED is proud to announce an additional partner in the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

The first phase of the SA-TIED programme was implemented from 1 November 2017 to 31 March 2022. It led to major research contributions to the policy environment as outlined in the summary report A platform for evidence-based policy formulation: Lessons from SA-TIED. SA-TIED Phase II will run from 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2025 and will build on the previous successes while further increasing its relevance to the policy-making environment in South Africa. 

Speaking at the launch, Minister Godongwana emphasised that a just energy transition and climate change should be a key priority for SA-TIED Phase II:

‘Climate change is not just an environmental issue but a developmental one as well. What does it mean for Mpumalanga for example where we have all those power stations, what kind of alternative economic development should be pursued there? That’s the kind of reform agenda and climate change thinking SA-TIED should assist us with.’

UK’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Antony Phillipson, said he was looking forward to a fruitful partnership with SA-TIED:

’Structural economic reform in South Africa is key to delivering inclusive and sustainable economic growth and opportunity across the country. I am delighted that the UK Government can support achieving that through the SA-TIED Phase II programme, partnering with UNU-WIDER, together with National Treasury and other agencies, to generate policy-relevant research and technical engagement to support economic transformation in South Africa.’ 

UNU-WIDER has been at the forefront of the SA-TIED programme. Kunal Sen, UNU-WIDER director,  said they are excited to continue this engagement and are very pleased about the new partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: 

’A big part of what SA‐TIED does is to engage with the policy‐making community as a partner. This is what is distinctive about this programme. To ensure impact on policies promoting economic transformation and curbing inequality, SA-TIED builds on best practices on policy research and engages the key users of the research—policy-makers and technical staff in government departments—into all aspects of the programme.’
A key aspect of the programme is to encourage networking and discussion amongst those involved in policy processes across the participating organizations and civil society to bridge the gap between research and policy-making.

The panel discussion on The challenge of economic inclusion in South Africa and the need to implement structural reforms comprised leading policy-makers and researchers. The discussion can be viewed here.