South African Post Office Gets R150 Million Bailout

The National Treasury has approved a R150 million virement to assist the South African Post Office SAPO in addressing immediate financial pressures.

The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies DCDT announced the approval in a media statement on Tuesday 25 February.

A virement is a government policy that allows the reallocation of public funds from one approved budgetary vote to another during a financial year.

This support is crucial in ensuring SAPO meets its obligations to employees and continues delivering essential services to the people of South Africa, DCDT spokesperson Tlangelani Manganyi said.

Beyond this immediate relief, the Department is actively pursuing long-term measures to stabilise and sustain SAPO.

A key part of this effort is the exploration of private sector partnerships, undertaken with the assistance of the Development Bank of Southern Africa through the joint task team with National Treasury to explore further strategic options for SAPO's future.

SAPO entered business rescue in July 2023 after experiencing financial and operational difficulties. In an update in 2024, the business rescue practitioners BRPs said the state-owned entity needs R3.8 billion from the National Treasury to implement the business rescue plan.

The approved R150 million bailout is a small fraction of this amount. In the immediate term, the department continues to work on finalising the business rescue process to provide clarity and stability for SAPO's future, Manganyi said.

SAPO remains a critical national asset, uniquely positioned to enhance service delivery and provide affordable postal, courier and digital services - particularly to underserved communities, thanks to its extensive national footprint.

Earlier this month, the department told MyBroadband that it had approached the National Treasury to reallocate funds from the governments broadband services programme SA Connect to SAPO.