Uncaring ANC plans to destroy 6 000 livelihoods, as 420 SAPO branches set to close across the country
24 November 2023
Yesterday, the South African Post Office (SAPO) released its business rescue plan. Its business rescue practitioners, Anoosh Roolpal and Juanito Damons, set out plans to retrench 6 000 workers and close to 420 branches across the country.
This is nothing short of devastating; but has been long in the making, due to ANC maladministration. These interventions will worsen our unemployment crisis, as well as worsen circumstances for the vulnerable that rely on the Post Office. In addition to providing postal services, SASSA beneficiaries collect social grants from the Post Office.
Beneficiaries in rural communities already travelled long distances out of their own pockets due to branch closures. Plans announced yesterday of further branch closures will make commutes completely unaffordable. In urban communities, this will mean longer queues and wait times. We already see beneficiaries queue for whole days and often for days on end.
SAPO received R7.9 billion from taxpayers from 2014 - 2019 and has only continued to deteriorate. SAPO was provisionally liquidated this February, as it defaulted on its R12.5 billion debt. It then received R2.4 billion in the National Budget, with a further R3.8 billion expected in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS).