The National Treasury has reported back on the first round of consultative stakeholder workshops on its Fiscal Anchors discussion document, which was published on March 12. The workshops marked the opening stage of a broader consultation process aimed at strengthening the sustainability, credibility and transparency of South Africa’s fiscal framework.

The discussion document outlines how slow economic growth and persistent budget deficits have led to a tripling of public debt over the last 15 years. This has forced the government to spend more on interest payments, crowding out services and investment.

In response to this challenge, the document proposes two broad reform options, the first being a numerical fiscal rule and the second an enhanced Parliamentary procedures model.

As a first step, the National Treasury convened three workshops with a broad group of experts with a direct interest in macro-fiscal issues.

The first workshop was for civil society organisations, held in Pretoria on July 28, while the second workshop featured participants in the debt-capital markets, held in Sandton on July 30. The third workshop was for academics and was held in Cape Town on August 7.

Each forum provided an opportunity for participants to respond to the discussion document, share their perspectives on fiscal challenges and raise ideas on how to move forward, eliciting useful insights into the issues covered by the document.

While it was not an explicit objective of these engagements to achieve consensus on the fiscal framework or rules reform, Treasury noted that the dialogue was robust and dynamic, and it was apparent that there were several crucial areas of shared concern.

Treasury said it valued the opportunity to hear the different views on South Africa’s macro-fiscal challenges and discuss how these can be addressed in the future, and that it hoped for more similarly constructive engagements going forward.

WHAT WAS DISCUSSED

During the workshops, participants engaged actively with the issues raised in the discussion document, with several recurring themes emerging across all sessions.

A shared recognition of the importance of fiscal sustainability was evident, with participants broadly acknowledging the risks posed by rising debt and growing debt-service costs, and the need to maintain public finances on a sustainable trajectory.

Many participants emphasised that fiscal rules alone would be insufficient without accompanying reforms to budget planning, prioritisation, implementation and accountability.

There was also a strong focus on improving the quality and efficiency of public spending, with repeated calls for measures to ensure that expenditure delivered greater developmental impact.

The debates also highlighted divergent views on the appropriate design of fiscal anchors. While some participants opposed the introduction of rigid numerical fiscal rules, others supported an adjusted framework that imposed legal constraints on debt, while still allowing space for growth-oriented capital investment.

All participants supported a principles- or standards-based approach rooted in transparency, accountability and constitutional rights.

Simultaneously, some cautioned that such frameworks might not be effective in influencing fiscal dynamics in the short term, with their success depending heavily on institutional implementation.

Concerns were also raised about the risks of complexity and rigidity in the system.

A further area of discussion was the broader impact of fiscal choices. Several contributors underscored the importance of considering social, developmental and distributional consequences alongside technical fiscal considerations.

In addition, many called for deeper and more collaborative analysis of key issues, including the distributional effects of tax policy and the cost of South Africa’s debt compared with its international peers.

The National Treasury said these perspectives reflected the diversity of South Africa’s public debate on fiscal policy, surfacing key issues, testing proposals, and laying the groundwork for further engagement as the consultation process unfolded.

FIRST STEP IN A BROADER PROCESS

The workshops were only the first step in the Treasury’s efforts to have open and inclusive dialogue on fiscal anchors and fiscal policy. The workshops revealed the seriousness with which stakeholders are approaching the issue.

“We are encouraged by the thoughtful contributions made during these initial workshops. This was the beginning of a much wider conversation. We look forward to hearing from many more voices in the months ahead,” Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said on September 12.

Going forward, government will host public webinars, followed by a conference alongside the consideration of the 2026 National Budget.

In the months ahead, government has said, these public engagements will include a larger conference. The conference will provide a formal platform for broad public participation and expert contribution, culminating in a published conference report. This report will feed into the preparation of a refined Treasury proposal for consideration later in 2026.

Treasury has invited written submissions ahead of the conference, with selected contributions to be presented during the event.

Interested parties who have read the discussion document can submit their written feedback to fiscal.policy@treasury.gov.za by December 15. The discussion document and presentations shared at the workshops are available on the National Treasury website.