An increase in the wages of public servants – originally due to kick in on April 1, in terms of a wage agreement reached in 2018 – is still on ice after Finance Minister Tito Mboweni announced an ambitious plan in his Budget address to save some R160-billion in the state’s wage bill over three years. One of the criticisms of South Africa’s fiscal management by rating agencies has the inability of the state to rein in expenditure, with the growing public sector wage bill a key item highlighted. The state hired more than 190 000 employees between 2007 and 2012, which helped offset job losses after the last global recession. However, the main cause for concern is not necessarily the total number of public sector jobs, but rather that rate of salary increases in the public sector has consistently outpaced the private sector.