Pretoria, 4 September 2000
South African Post Office Chairpeson Max Maisela,
CEO Maanda Manyatshe,
Northern region regional General Manager Daphne Motsepe,
Post Office Staff,
Members of the Media,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is indeed my pleasure to be with you this evening, to share with you the culmination of the South African Post Office's national logistical planning in providing South Africa with a state-of-the art mail distribution system. The Post Office's core business is to meet universal service by ensuring an efficient logistics and distribution network. This included a total mail renewal programme which involved four new major mail centres, different depot projects and the introduction of a new mail distribution network known as Hub and Spoke. The latest technology is used to ensure that future needs are met.
The commissioning of Tshwane Mail, the last in the erection of the four main mail centres, completes the circle in the company's Hub and Spoke streamlined mail distribution system. With the completion of the new International Mail Centre and the Speed Services Couriers Speed Hub -both at the Johannesburg International Airport - towards the end of the year, the Post Office will be operating a mail distribution system which will provide well for the country's postal needs in the new millennium.
This investment of nearly R300 million for six mail centres countrywide including the two which are still to be established, will go a long way in demonstrating the commitment by Post Office in ensuring service delivery in both urban and rural areas of our country.
Ladies and gentlemen, the postal sector worldwide is undergoing complex changes which involve the removal of monopoly and State protectionism and introducing competition.
The changes have also seen a shift in focus from national markets to globalisation and from State ownership to commercialisation and privatisation. Even the mail itself has undergone a metarmophosis whereby electronic mail is becoming common. All these changes are occurring very fast and are necessitating a re-assessment of how postal business is organised.
A new scenario in the postal business has seen the separation of operational and regulatory aspects in many countries worldwide. Our own sector in South Africa has undergone numerous significant changes since 1991 when Telkom and the South African Post Office became separate business entities. The new Postal Services Act of 1998, which was promulgated last April has established a regulator with specific objectives of regulating the postal market in terms of licensing and registration, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery, encouraging competition in the sector.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Post Office plays a very significant role in the socio-economic development of our country in terms of universal postal services and provision of electronic mail to the ordinary people of our society. The opening of this mail centre which is the fourth largest in the country, will not only ensure the smooth functioning of mail processing but will increase the service delivery standard of the Northern region from the current 80% to reach - over time - the national average required of 92% mail service delivery. In this regard I have been informed by the department that very shortly, the Postal Regulator will finalise the postal operator licence which I will be issuing to the Post Office immediately thereafter. This licence, which allows the Post Office a reduced monopoly protection is for a period of three years. It is linked to a number of significant socio-economic target provisions to roll out about four million addresses and an increase of the postal network of at least 3 200 post offices nationally.
Since the engagement of New Zealand Post International as a strategic management partner a year ago to assist the Post Office in achieving these objectives, as Minister I have asked the Board to employ an independent auditor to review the extent to which the SMPs have succeeded in meeting the contracted roll-out targets.
Ladies and gentlemen, the vital role played by the Post Office in linking the country, cannot be over-emphasised. Not only is the Post Office confining itself to traditional postal services, but it has ventured into technology-oriented means of communication.
Previously disadvantaged communities who for a long time had no access to computers, are set to benefit from a joint venture between my Department and the Post Office. The Public Information Terminal, or PIT, entails the installation of Internet kiosks in post offices around the country. The kiosks will provide instant access to the Internet, e-mail, government and educational services as well as e-commerce. The link to government websites, for example, will provide information on aspects of regulation, legislation, welfare, support, grants and rebates. Interactive directories of various tertiary institutions will also be available.
The project also provides a platform for e-commerce to empower the growth of small, micro and medium enterprises in their local communities. This will give them the opportunity to advertise and sell goods and services as well as conducting e-commerce transactions. Fundamental to the success of the PIT Project is that it must be user-friendly, affordable and offer benefits not only to the public, but also to participating service and information providers. Access will be via smart-card technology, accessing a range of electronic communication links. Full Internet and e-mail facilities will be available to every user. Pre-installed popular sites using cache facilities will make the process speedily and more convenient.
Tshwane Mail is a vital link in the entire process. This is the fourth and, in terms of current planning, the final addition to the country's super mail sorting centres.
The 15 000 square metre centre boasts the latest technology, ranking it among the best in the world, which will certainly mean service of exceptional quality. It is the central mail processing facility for standard and nonstandard letters, registered and insured items, bulk mail acceptance, international air and surface mail, Fastmail, customs and the transfer of containers as part of the national transport network. It operates 24 hours.
With those remarks, it is my pleasure to officially declare the Tshwane Mail Centre open.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Communications