To amend the Postal Services Act, 1998, so as to amend the definition of Regulator; to make fresh provision for the composition of the Postal Regulator; and to enable the postal company to provide insurance of mail and postal articles; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
B E IT ENACTED by the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, as follows:-
- by the substitution for subsection (1) of the following subsection: “(1) A [Regulator] Directorate: Postal Regulation to be known as the [Directorate: Postal Regulation] Postal Regulator is hereby established within the Department.”; and
- by the deletion of subsection (5).
(1) The Regulator consists of [two persons, of whom]-
- [one must be the most senior officer in the Postal Policy Division OS the Department, who must be designated the Chairperson of the Regulator, or, subject to subsection (2), an officer acting in his or her position] a Chairperson appointed by the Minister for a period of no more than five years; and
- [the other must be a fit and proper person with appropriate qualifications appointed by the Minister for a period of not more than five years] officers of the Department designated by the Minister, one of whom must be designated as the deputy chairperson.
(1A) The Chairperson appointed in terms of subsection (1)(a) must be a fit and proper person with appropriate qualifications.
(1B) Whenever the Chairperson is absent or unable to perform his or her duties, the deputy chairperson contemplated in subsection (1) (b) must act in his or her stead and when so acting, may perform any function of the Chairperson.”
Reappointment and termination
5. The Minister may-
- reappoint the person appointed in terms of section 4(l)(a) upon the expiry of his or her term of office; and
- terminate the appointment of such person in accordance with the procedures applicable to State employees if there are sound reasons to terminate the appointment.”
Duration of licence
17. Subject to section [16(7)] 1 6 0 , a licence issued in terms of this Act is valid for the period prescribed or for such shorter period as may be determined by the Regulator in any particular case and stipulated in the licence at the time of issue thereof.
Insurance of mail and postal articles
30A. The postal company may provide for the insurance of mail or postal articles subject to such terms and conditions as may be prescribed, and may enter into an agreement with any postal authority for the reciprocal exchange of insured mail or postal articles.
"(1) Any person who operates a postal service except [in terms of & accordance with this Act [or] in terms of a licence or registration certificate issued to that person in terms of this Act is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonmen1 for a period not exceeding [two] five years or to both a fine and such imprisonment.
- by the substitution in item 1 fox paragraph (a) of the following paragraph: (a) all letters, postcards, printed matter, small parcels and other postal articles subject to the mass [and] size limitations [of paragraph] set out in item 3;”;
- by the substitution for items 2 and 3 of the following items, respectively:
2. For [the] purposes of this Schedule, a letter means any form of written communication of other document, article or object that is directed to a specific person or persons or specific address and is to be conveyed other than by electronic means and includes a parcel, package or wrapper containing any such communication or article conforming to the mass [and] size limitations set out in [paragraph] item 3.
3. The reserved postal services include all items described in [paragraphs] 1(a) ;and 2 of a mass up to and including one kilogram [as well as dimensions] or size which [enable] enables it to fit into a rectangular box with the following dimensions: length 458 mm width 324 mm thickness 100 mm Cylinders having a maximum length of 458 mm and 100 mm thickness [and] a mass of up to one kilogram are regarded as letters.”; and
(c) by the deletion of paragraph (d) of item 4.
(a) all letters, postcards, printed matter, small parcels and other postal articles [larger or heavier than the dimensions set out in item 3 of Schedule 11 fall outside the ambit of the reserved services set out in Schedule 1] up to and including thirty kilograms; paragraph (a) of the following paragraph:
- by the substitution in section 9(1) for the word him” of the expression him
- by the substitution in section 60(4) for the word he” of the expression he or her”; "he and she"
(2) In that event, that person must serve as deputy chairperson of the Postal Regulator established by section 3(1) of the principal Act in place of one of the officials contemplated in section 4( 1)(b) of the said Act until the expiry of the person’s term of office, subject to subsection (3)
(3) The Minister may at any time terminate the employment of that person in accordance with applicable laws.