Post Office scores R381m lifeline — but full bailout still hangs in the balance

For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.
SA's struggling Post Office is expected to soon receive a financial boost after it successfully applied for R381 million in funding via the Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS).
While the SA Post Office (SAPO) has not yet received the funding, it expects to do so once all administrative processes are completed.
TERS, originally set up during Covid-19, is a government wage-relief scheme that helps companies retain workers during financial distress.
'These funds were applied for by the Post Office in December 2024 and will assist to pay some of the salary expenses of the business for the next six months,' said Anoosh Rooplal, one of SAPO's two business rescue practitioners.
'This will assist to contribute to a future of the business and improve the cash flows.'
While the R381 million in income support will help the SAPO stay afloat, it is only roughly a tenth of the R3.8 billion the Post Office says it needs in its comprehensive turnaround plan.
It is wants use the full R3.8-billion package to pay off creditors, fund retrenchment packages, update outdated IT systems, and improve infrastructure, logistics, and mail processing.
The government has been hesitant to release the funds, however. It is insisting SAPO's business rescue practitioners present an ironclad plan to ensure the state-run institution won't require future bailouts.
Khusela Diko, chair of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, called the R381-million wage subsidy an 'important milestone' in the ongoing work to rescue and 'futureproof' the Post Office.
'The subsidy is expected to reduce the SAPO's cost burden and forms part of the building blocks towards the completion of the business rescue process,' she said.

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