Pretoria - Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has sent his condolences to the family and friends of Tony Twine, following the economist's death.
"Mr Twine made a valuable contribution to the development of policies in several government departments and was part of a team that drafted South Africa's energy policies," said Gordhan on Monday.
Twine died following a short illness on Sunday.
"The National Treasury valued his insight on such issues as international ratings agencies, the automobile industry, petroleum markets and various aspects of litigation and competition law economics," said the minister.
Twine was a senior economist and director at Econometrix, which is an independent macro-economic consultancy and is privately owned.
Treasury said Twine's widely published opinions in international media have helped to form positive views of South Africa as investors.
"He contributed much to the post-apartheid economic debate and his input will be missed," said Gordhan.
Twine joined forces with Econometrix in 1983, becoming a Director in 1986. He is best known for his work in the multi-faceted motor industry. He has contributed to national government on various issues including energy policy.
