Honourable Speaker /Madam Deputy Speaker/honourable chairperson
honourable members of the house
Ladies and gentlemen
It is with great pleasure that I introduce the South African PostBank Bill to the National Assembly today.
When the White Paper on Postal Policy was passed in 1998, it was recognised that the Postbank as an institution will play a developmental role towards satisfying the savings needs of the rural and under-serviced communities in our country.
Speaker/chairperson and honourable members,
The bill before you seeks to establish the Postbank as a subsidiary of the South African Post Office that will provide a complete range of services to the majority of our citizens without any of the hurdles they would experience at a commercial bank.
The Postbank will be restructured to accommodate the developmental goals of the state. It is therefore, the objective of this bill, before you to create a bank of first choice for the lower income groups, providing them with appropriate banking products and high quality financial services.
As a bank of first choice to the rural and marginalised communities, it will enable our people to access banking services previously out of reach to many.
As much as the Postbank will be catering towards the needs of the rural and marginalised, in time the Postbank will expand its financial services; it will do so however only after the Minister of Communications in concurrence with Minister of Finance agree with the need for such expansion.
This will also significantly strengthen our efforts to inculcate a culture of saving and stimulate socio-economic development, particularly in the rural communities.
The primary aim is to give financial services to communities within the proximity of their dwellings.
Speaker/chairperson and honourable members,
The tabling of the South African Postbank Bill in this house is a step in realising this vision. In this regard the main purpose of the bill is to corporatise the Postbank that is currently a division of the Post Office.
It will utilise the infrastructure and facilities of the South African Post Office. The South African Post Office has a large footprint covering over 70 percent of the country, thus enabling possible spread of the services the Postbank will provide.
The Postbank as a company will be managed by its own board with all the required corporate governance requirements and all mechanisms that will ensure accountability.
The details on the implementation and capacity of the board plan will be directed by the Ministerial policy direction. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be developed between the department of communications and the South African Post Office soon after the bill is promulgated.
Importantly, the Postbank will be brought within the ambit of the financial and banking regulatory environment, as regulated by the Registrar of Banks.
The Postbank will become a key player in the promotion of universal and affordable access to banking services. It will ensure that the rates and charges of the Postbank take into consideration the needs of the people in the lower income market.
Speaker/chairperson and honourable members,
The approval of this bill will break new ground in creating a financial institution that communities will identify with by virtue of its location in the under-serviced areas.
This bill provides for the Minister of Communications to exercise oversight and in cases that require treasury intervention concurrence from the Minister of Finance is required.
I have no doubt that the passing of this bill will bring much relief and excitement to the marginalised citizens of this country.
In conclusion, I want to state that the bill has been thoroughly checked within the Working Committee comprising of Department of Communications, National Treasury, Reserve Bank and the South African Post Office, during the public consultations in all nine provinces.
The Portfolio Committee on Communications also played a key role in the refinement of the bill.
I wish to thank the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications, Mr Ishmael Vadi and members of the Committee who had marathon meetings considering the bill and worked till late to champion this bill.
Finally, I wish to recognise the able support of the Deputy Minister of Communications, Ms Dina Pule for her relentless support in championing this bill enthusiastically.
I also wish to thank the senior management of the department of communications and my staff for the effort they put and ensuring the drafting and finalisation of this bill.
I thank you for allowing me to introduce this bill and look forward to its speedy passage through this house.
I thank you.
Source: Department of Communications
