𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟳 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. Last year, national government signed off on a public servants wage agreement that the country simply couldn’t afford. Under pressure from trade unions, government increased its already overburdened wage bill, pushing the cost of the shortfall onto provincial budgets. Now provinces have been forced to cut their budgets, slashing personnel numbers and plunging service delivery further into crisis. Already overstretched, the public health and education sectors in the Western Cape have been dealt a devastating blow, and they’re not afraid to say it. Carte Blanche examines the developing crisis and asks: is the Western Cape the canary in the coal mine?