The SA Post Office has tightened and improved controls to manage matters raised at a scheduled meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on 16 November 2021.
The SA Post Office appreciates the feedback and guidance it received from the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) during a session on 16 November 2021. The feedback is in line with that received from the Ministry of the DCDT.
Most of these steps had been taken well before the meeting, which focused on irregular and wasteful expenditure – incurred in the 2019/2020 financial year.
The SA Post Office is faced with reduced revenue – the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the migration to electronic forms of communication.
The organisation also currently operates with insufficient human resources in some areas, while there is an oversupply in other areas. A number of executives have left the organisation, resulting in a loss of institutional knowledge, intellectual capital and relevant skills to successfully implement the Post Office of Tomorrow strategy.
The SA Post Office is currently developing a training and reskilling programme for employees at all levels to bring their skills in line with the requirements of a modern postal service.
The funding which the SA Post Office has applied for is intended to address the current situation and to set the organisation towards a path to sustainability.
It should be noted that the SA Post Office was not compensated for the loss of Postbank, which would constitute normal business practice. The Post Office also has a universal service obligation, in terms of which it is required to provide reasonable access to its services to all citizens in South Africa. The result of the universal service obligation is that it has to maintain branches in areas where the service provision is not financially viable.
Previously, funding was used to settle historical debts. The focus this time will be on financing operational requirements whilst implementing the turnaround plan, adhering to an implementation plan developed for the Post Office of Tomorrow Strategy and supported by strict control measures. A portion of the funding will be utilised to partly settle liabilities and to finance voluntary severance packages.
The SA Post Office has achieved good progress in becoming part of the growing e-Commerce sector and continues to source new business. The SA Post Office is the exclusive partner of the e-Commerce giant Wish.com in South Africa and has concluded similar agreements with Mail Americas, Signature Mail, ICE and CNE.
The intention is to act as distribution hub for these companies in sub-Saharan Africa. The SA Post Office does not intend to partner only with international companies and plans to extend similar partnerships to South African e-Commerce companies.
The SA Post Office will focus on strengthening its revenue from logistics and warehousing, and has gained experience in warehousing through the digital terrestrial television (DTT) project.
To remain competitive, the Post Office has to bring its services to the customer instead of expecting the customer to go to a physical branch. The first product in the ‘SAPO in my Pocket’ strategy will be launched very soon, making the service available on any mobile electronic device. More products will follow.
To improve the customer experience at its branches the SA Post Office has reduced waiting times. Separate queues have been introduced at all larger outlets so that customers visiting their Post Office for a normal postal transaction do not have to wait in line with those who are there to collect an SRD grant. Grant recipients are also allocated a specific day of the week to control the number of beneficiaries on a given day.
The payment facility for SRD grants has been extended to Pick ‘n Pay and Boxer supermarkets. A similar arrangement will soon be extended to more supermarket and spaza shop chains.
The SA Post Office has focused on cost-containment and reduction, while increasing revenue generation, through a number of initiatives.
The Board had also given a directive about consequences being meted out to those who may have been found responsible for the irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
The SA Post Office would like to thank Government, in particular the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services as well as Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and Deputy Minister Philly Mapulane, for their continued guidance and support.
A follow-up meeting with SCOPA has been scheduled for 3 December 2021.
