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Watching the slow and steady demise of the South African Post Office (SAPO) is like watching a car crash in slow motion.

The wheels have been coming off for years and despite numerous rescue efforts and talk of cleaning up its act, things may be too far gone.

SAPO has now been forced to put 14 of its properties up for auction but even that won’t make much of a dent, reports MyBroadband.

Municipal and landlord debt alone stands at R305 million, and all 14 properties selling at the minimum auction price would only raise around R23 million.

Most of the properties put up for auction in late February are in Gauteng, while there are several in the Free State and one in the Northern Cape…

SAPO had decided to sell these properties as there was not enough demand for post boxes in these communities.

“Where they might have had thousands of post boxes rented out in the past, now only 30 or 40 are being used,” the auctioneer [said].

That’s probably because nobody trusts the post office any longer.

Remember that test that found SAPO’s delivery was slower than the Roman Empire’s delivery service? We do.

That’s not to mention the fact that parcels received from overseas often become tangled up in the customs fiasco, or need collecting from the local post office – a headache we can all do without.

On that front, at least, Postbox Courier has you sorted. Order goods from anywhere in the world, have them sent to the relevant overseas depot, and they arrive at your front door within three to five working days.

Private business one, SAPO zero.

By the way, the R305 million figure quoted earlier is just the tip of the iceberg. For the year ending March 21, 2020, SAPO incurred losses of R1,8 billion:

SAPO has also fallen into arrears of R485 million with its suppliers.

Telkom has threatened to cut off the Post Office’s Internet access over a R269-million unpaid bill.

SAPO reportedly asked the government for a R9.3-billion bailout in a closed parliamentary session earlier this month.

You know it’s bad when Telkom is judging you.

Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has said there is no need to privatise the state-owned company.

Taxpayers forking out billions in bailouts may well disagree.

[source:mybroadband]