The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) rejects in the strongest possible terms ludicrous proposals to liquidate the South African Post Office (SAPO) by its supposed Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs).
It is beyond shameful that the very same BRPs who were appointed through a court agreement with the creditors and the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies in 2023, have nothing to show for their tenure beyond retrenching thousands of SAPO employees and plunging their families into absolute poverty and despair, closing hundreds of branches and thus further shrinking its customer base and potential to recover. Workers have reported the BRP’s abysmal failure to pay millions of Rands owed to workers, including medical and pension funds plus taxes.
It is clear that besides further crippling SAPO and pickpocketing its employees, the only thing the BRPs have to show for the past several years are the hefty fees they have helped themselves to from SAPO.
The Federation will never agree to the liquidation of SAPO. The only liquidation that must take place is that of the BRPs. It is time that the Department approached court to remove the BRPs and put in place competent administrators who have the capability and commitment to ensuring its stabilisation and setting it back upon the path to sustainability.
The turnaround of other embattled state-owned enterprises from Transnet to Metro Rail proves that they can be fixed and once again contribute to stimulating economic growth and creating jobs with competent management, the removal of criminal and corrupt elements, filling frontline vacancies and recruiting critical skills, and investing in the company’s infrastructure and capacity.
The SAPO and Postbank Amendment Acts passed by the 6th Parliament provide a turnaround path for both institutions, by allowing SAPO to enter the highly lucrative courier business and to become a one stop shop for citizens to access public services and enabling the Postbank to become a fully licensed state bank aimed at working class and rural residents all too often redlined by the private banking sector.
COSATU will be seeking urgent engagements with the Minister and Parliament’s Portfolio Committee for Communications and Digital Technologies to provide comfort to workers that their jobs will be secured, monies paid and that a turnaround plan will be put in place. It is critical that Treasury provide the previously committed financial support to enable such a turnaround to be implemented.
Issued by COSATU