In March 2020 there was much planning and excitement in preparation for the Savings@Work Conference on Government Spending Reviews to be held in the Drakensberg.  A detailed programme was drawn up, speakers mobilised and enthused, invites sent out and participants eagerly awaited the event. However, Covid-19 and the associated lockdown scuppered plans and the conference was put on hold. Given the experience and success of the online training programme on the spending review methodology for some officials, it has been decided to host the conference using an online platform.

The Savings@Work conference is the culmination of many years of work on spending reviews conducted through the National and Provincial Treasuries. The online conference will serve to reflect on the impact and consequences of the 40 technical spending reviews completed in National Treasury between 2013 and 2017. A significant component of the conference will focus on the processes around the institutionalisation of spending reviews, but the conference also aims to strengthen collaborations among the nine Provincial Treasuries, as well as between National Treasury, line departments and Provincial Treasuries. It is clear that most provinces share similar challenges and ground-breaking solutions can be shared widely using such a platform.

The Savings@Work: Government Spending Reviews Conference will offer officials who have been a part of the various capacity building initiatives a platform to share insights from their experience with spending reviews, to discuss similar challenges and showcase some of the innovative solutions.