Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Mondli Gungubele has urged the South African Post Office and his department to work hard to avert the possible liquidation of the entity.
This follows the decision to place the Post Office on provisional liquidation after it failed to pay rent to one of its creditors.
Gungubele was answering questions in Parliament.
He’s also warned that should the Post Office be liquidated, that will affect nearly seven million social grant beneficiaries as well as thousands of workers.
The Post Office suffered a net loss of over R2 billion in the last financial year.
This has left the new Communications Minister Mondli Gungubele worried.
“The provisional liquidation of the Post Office has the potential to affect ordinary South Africans who depend on SAPO services if it becomes a final court order. No less than 12 000 workers will be affected. Therefore, the Minister has instructed both SAPO and the department to do everything possible to prevent SAPO from liquidation.”
The Post Office was given about R2.4 billion by government as a bail out. Gungubele explains how this money is going to be spent.
“The R2.4 billion conditions are about addressing legacy issues such as payment of creditors and also launching of the Post Office of tomorrow, implementing the quarterly remedies of the department and Post Office to track and communicate the use of that money.”
Gungubele was also questioned by MPs on his decision to retain the same board that oversaw the collapse of the entity.
“We are in a process of appointing the new board. What is existing now is the appointment on interim measures until the appointment. Of course in doing so for institutional memory and accountability, that’s one of the considerations to seek in the interim as we are appointing the new board, the existing one must assist us to clarify the underlying conditions that places where we are.”
He told MPs that the payment of Post Office creditors is the main priority.
“We are working on the best possible solutions and the primary purpose is to make sure that SAPO does not disappear. So, the solution that we are going to take will be of such a nature that remain comfortable with regard to the future of the institution. The issue of challenging the liquidation does not come across as the option that we can try other than finding the best possible way-which we have agreed between us and the creditors. That’s where we are right now.”
