South Africa’s communications minister, Mondli Gungubele, has extended the Post Office’s exclusivity over small parcel deliveries until 1 April 2025.
This includes parcels under 1kg or parcels that don’t fit into a rectangular box with the following dimensions:Sapo also has exclusivity for delivering cylindrical parcels with a maximum length of 458mm and thickness of 100mm. “The legislative framework and the licence require Sapo to provide such services universally to every citizen in the country to ensure that all citizens have equal access to a basic postal service that is reasonably accessible regardless of physical location, at an affordable and uniform postage rate,” he said.
Sapo’s steady financial collapse in recent years has rendered it largely unable to fulfil its mandate regarding these essential services.