President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed the Amendment Bill of the ailing South African Post Office (Sapo) into law.
The new law expands the objectives and mandate of the Post Office, enabling its relevance and sustainability by including services that respond to the modern day needs of customers.
The Post Office was placed under business rescue in March 2023 as a result of severe financial distress. This move followed years of declining revenue, operational inefficiencies, and an inability to modernise in the face of a rapidly changing postal and logistics industry.
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“The expansion will ensure that the Post Office is not only empowered by the legislation to provide basic postal services but is empowered to provide other value-added services to expand on its revenue generating streams.
“The new law enables the Post Office to serve as a hub for government services and other agency services, and as a digital hub for businesses and communities,” the Presidency said in a statement on Wednesday.
With the introduction of this new law, the Post Office will also be expected to serve as a logistics partner to other e-commerce providers – including small enterprises and informal traders – and any future business that the state-owned company may develop.
The law empowers the Post Office to continuously adapt its business model to stay relevant in an evolving technological landscape while enhancing its Universal Services Obligation.
It also prioritises partnerships with government institutions, which include national and provincial departments, and government components, including municipalities.
