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Date : 22/10/2003
Source: Ministry of Communications
Title: Matsepe-Casaburri: Postal Services Amendment Bill, NCOP


SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS, DR IVY MATSEPE-CASABURRI, DURING THE PRESENTATION OF THE POSTAL SERVICES AMENDMENT BILL, National Council of Provinces, 22 October 2003

Chairperson
Honourable Members

As we present this Bill, I wish to remind this House that as government, our tasks are to change the lives of South Africans for the better and to expand access to this better life. We can only truly fulfil these tasks if we recognise that in so doing we have to address the needs of the poor, of those who have been marginalized from economic activities and social well being as a result of apartheid. In this regard, we have no choice but to continue to push back the frontiers of poverty and to pursue of our agenda for universal access to basic services.

It is with this in mind, that when I took the Postal Services Amendment Bill to the National Assembly in September, I made the following remarks and I argued that:

"In our country where millions of our people, especially the historically disadvantaged, still depend on postal service to interact and communicate, the centrality of the South African Post Office (SAPO) cannot be undermined. Thus the challenges the postal administration face, become real national issues and demand that they be treated as such."

Clearly, our local conditions, stemming from the inequalities and underdevelopment of apartheid, dictate that we work hard towards the fulfilment of universal service obligations and that we declare in no uncertain terms that for us as South African citizens, access to a basic postal service is a fundamental right and not a privilege. This is the overriding imperative.

It was also against this backdrop that as early as 1997, a new policy process was initiated for the provision of a universal service. This policy found concrete expression in the Postal Services Act 124 of 1998. Indeed, the legislative framework made it possible for the SAPO to increase service levels and to embrace technology in the way they deliver services. Crime levels at SAPO have also been reduced, which have resulted in high staff morale.

On World Post Day on 9 October 2003, the SAPO, eager to prove itself in the race of efficiency, challenged itself to deliver a letter from a Post Office in Brits to the Durmail sorting hub in Durban by way of normal channels before a copy of that selfsame letter could be hand-delivered by a group of cyclists making the journey by road. The letter sent through normal postal channels arrived at the Durmail at 07:00 on the Saturday whereas the cyclists only reached their destination at 11:30 on the Sunday. Clearly, the Post Office won the race and we congratulate them on this feat.

The editorial of the Pretoria News last week, commenting on this, wrote that:

"Although we have had occasion in years past to lambaste the Post Office for poor service, it is striving continuously to improve its standards and it seems, slowly but surely, to be regaining the status of a reliable and trustworthy agent."

It is this determination of the Post Office to overcome the legacy of the past that we are witnessing and also its strive for greater efficiency that we must commend and concur that indeed the tide has turned for the Post Office towards greater efficiency and effectiveness in its work as it expands its services into areas that had not previously been well-served.

The Postal Services Amendment Bill should serve to strengthen the hand of the Post Office so that it can reach greater heights.

In line with the public policy of fulfilling the universal service mandate, the licence to SAPO was granted with a clear obligation:

* to ensure that all citizens of our country have access to basic letter service
* that is reasonable accessible irrespective of physical location
* at a uniform postage rate
* at an affordable price
* that offers a reliable service.

To facilitate an environment for SAPO to accomplish this monumental national task, the institution was given a period of exclusivity to provide services up to one kilogram, a provision reviewable every three years. During this period of exclusivity no other postal operator would be authorised to operate in the reserved area.

If SAPO is to meet its obligations to the benefit of millions of our people, this exclusivity has to be retained.

The introduction of this Bill is aimed at doing exactly that. The repeal of the said Section will protect the exclusivity given to SAPO in respect of reserved postal service.

It will also eliminate the multiplicity of interpretations emanating from this Section.

The law also requires the Post Office to provide an address to all citizens, because government acknowledges that without an address it is impossible for citizens to participate fully and meaningfully in economic and social activities. At present, the Post Office is meeting the challenge of having to deal with a backlog of nearly 4 million citizens who do not have an address. In this way, we bring the historically disadvantaged and marginalized into the mainstream of Postal Services in the 21st century.

The African Renaissance is truly upon us: the SAPO is also engaged in Southern African Development Community activities to try and improve the infrastructure of our neighbours. These linkages are important because it enables us to strengthen our networks across the continent and to help to provide better, more efficient postal services even beyond our borders.

At continental and global level we are active participants in fora such as the Pan African Postal Union and the Universal Postal Union since our agenda is also to work towards a better Africa and a better world. "Think globally, act locally" was the call made by the Secretary-General of the Universal Postal Union on the eve of World Postal Day; and it is as part of this world community that we should gear ourselves to make our mark by doing what is relevant to our own local conditions in embracing this call and in meeting the universal access mandate.

There is in place a Rural Postal Strategy that is being implemented through Citizens' Post Offices and through providing postal infrastructure to Multi-purpose Community Centres (MPCCs), a project that is being carried out in Partnership with Government Communication and Information System (GCIS). In rolling-out postal services, we prioritise both urban and rural nodes that have been identified in government's Urban Renewal Strategy and in the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme.

The Regulator has developed regulations and a monitoring framework for service delivery.

In recent weeks, much has been said about the Postal Amendment Bill most of which is unfounded and attempting to set alarm bells ringing and to strike fear in the public when there is really nothing to be afraid of or concerned about. It has been said, among other things, that the Bill is likely to lead to job losses, the shutting down of courier companies and that South Africa's ability to compete globally will be inhibited. The view also has been put forward that the Bill also will prevent the delivery of pizzas, flowers, medicines and other miscellaneous items that weigh under 1 kg.

These concerns could not be further from the truth.

The Bill is clear in that it addresses items that can be delivered in a post box and not all sundry goods as the detractors suggest. It is also obvious that the Postal Services Amendment Bill does not in fact prevent courier companies from operating, but frees these legally operating companies to provide the services they were doing before. Surely it is this freedom that will enable even more courier companies to grow and flourish and should result in more sustainable jobs in this highly competitive sector.

In fact, this Bill will not only encourages competition in the postal sector, but will clarify the regulatory framework for the delivery of universal service. Government would like to fulfil universal service obligations while at the same time encouraging competition in this industry. Certainly, it is through competition that we will lower prices and improve service level delivery. This Bill will also clarify the competition landscape of the sector and will provide continuity in the sector as well as allow for all operators to focus on lawful, harmonious business of this industry.

I would like to thank the Chairperson of the Select Committee on Communications, and all other members of this Committee, as well as Labour and Public Enterprises for processing this Bill.

A special thanks does to the Department of Communications, Director-General and the Deputy Director-General of Postal Policy for co-coordinating the process that culminated in the presentation of this Bill to Parliament.

This House should recognise that as government we are determined to meet the needs of the poor as indeed we shall encourage competitiveness in the postal sector as whole. We are confident that through this Bill a basic postal service will become a living reality as it is indeed a right for all citizens of our country and thus a public good that cannot be left in the hands of the market.

I request that the House accept this Bill.

Thank you.

For further details please contact: Lisa Combrinck @ 012 427 8292 or 082 821 4886 Media Liaison Officer to the Minister OR Jerry Majatladi @ 012 427 8017 or 082 889 3381 General Manager: Media and Communications Unit
Issued by: Ministry of Communications
22 October 2003

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