THE Financial Services Board has teamed up with the South African Council of Churches to educate consumers on how to save.

The two organisations launched the Consumer Education Pilot Project at Kgotso House in Johannesburg's inner city.

The money gurus and SACC have budgeted an estimated R2m to R3m for this project, which will cover six regions in Gauteng.

Chief executive officer Dube Tshidi said the project aimed to assist South Africans to better manage their finances through consumer education.

"South Africans do not save and it is through consumer education that we will be able to educate them about the importance of savings," he said. One of the first issues that the pilot project would like to tackle is the enormous over-expenditure on funerals in South Africa.

"People spend money they cannot afford or getting into debts to pay for funeral expenses is no way to honour the dead. We encouraging our nation to be wise in the way they handle their finances," Tshidi said.

Gauteng MEC for economic development Qedani Mahlangu supports the initiative.

"Lack of saving restrains economic growth in South Africa," Mahlangu says.

SACC general secretary Reverend Mautji Pataki says: "We are worried about how we relate to money. People are more interested in riches and corruption, which break relationships."

Pataki says the SACC's role in this project is to educate consumers about how ethical values, morals and spiritual manners can help instill values in financial management.

"The idea is to enable all people living on South Africa to manage their personal and family financial matters soundly. We are aware that there are unscrupulous financial service providers, and we want South Africans to report such matters to the FSB," says Tshidi.

Project trainer Peter Bosch says that the six trainees appointed by SACC will be trained in basic money management skills that they will import to their communities over the next six months.

It is hoped that the project will go national later this year and more financial institutions will come on board.