Latest news with #FathimaGany
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Takealot challenges Post Office's monopoly on small parcel deliveries
Takealot Group is challenging SAPO's exclusive rights to deliver parcels under 1 k. Image: File E-commerce retailer Takealot has filed "a notice of intention to amend the notice of motion" in the marathon legal battle by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) and SA Post Office (Sapo) to maintain a monopoly for Sapo in the delivery of sub-1 kilogram parcels. This comes as the pleading stage in the matter continues until mid-August, according to confirmation by the Acting Sapo CEO Fathima Gany and the Business Rescue Practitioners after an update to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies. The monopoly, as outlined in the Postal Services Act, has been challenged and was extended to April 1, 2025. This comes as the private sector capitalises on Sapo's inability to enforce the monopoly due to its ongoing financial difficulties. Gany told Parliament that there had been ongoing meetings with Takealot, which has now filed a notice of intention to amend its legal position in the sub-1 kg dispute. Sapo, supported by Icasa initially took PostNet and the South African Express Parcel Association (Saepa) to court in 2018. The objective was to uphold the law and prevent these private players from delivering small parcels. However, the private courier firms won that round, especially after larger operators like Takealot joined the legal battle. Joint Business Rescue Practitioner of Sapo Anoosh Rooplal told Business Report, "The Post Office currently still has the exclusive licence to deliver sub-1 kg parcels, but this is being encroached upon by the private sector. The case is still pending, and the regulator, Icasa, is currently at the pleading stage, which is scheduled to conclude on 14 August 2025, as per the latest request. The Post Office supports Icasa in this case and will ultimately benefit if their arguments to preserve the monopoly are upheld." Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading The case, led by Icasa as the regulator, is up against the courier sector, represented by Saepa, which is challenging Sapo's exclusive rights to deliver packages under 1 kg - a competitive advantage in the growing e-commerce and rural logistics markets. Sapo has acknowledged in its Corporate Plan to 2030 that it faces increasing competition from more agile and technologically advanced private courier services. Without a major overhaul of its digital capabilities, Sapo risks losing even more market share to these competitors, particularly in urban areas. "PostNet is our competition. It has our service offering. That is what a Sapo branch is - or should be. A futuristic Sapo branch is where you can walk in and get an array of services: internet café, access to Hotmail to look for jobs, anything that you want to do that you cannot do at home. You can walk in and collect our parcels. It's a central hub," Gany said. Meanwhile, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has indicated its intention to review Sapo's monopoly on certain postal services, including the delivery of parcels weighing less than 1 kg. According to Sapo, the South African Courier, Express, and Parcel market was valued at R48 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach R78bn by 2030. This growth is attributed largely to the e-commerce sector, which is expected to grow at an annual rate of between 10% and 15% over the next three years. BUSINESS REPORT
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Funding crisis looms for SA Post Office and Post Bank as rescue practitioners prepare to exit
The National Treasury firmly ruled itself out as an option to recapitalise SAPO. Image: Supplied Uncertainty surrounds the funding of about R7 billion needed to recapitalise both the South African Post Office (SAPO) and the Post Bank after National Treasury firmly ruled itself out as an option. This comes as the SAPO Business Rescue Practitioners prepare to exit the process, leaving the entity with a R1.7bn paper profit. During a briefing to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Digital Technologies and Communications on Tuesday, SAPO's group acting CEO, Fathima Gany, expressed the urgency of the situation. Gany said SAPO required R3.8bn to efficiently run its extensive network of 657 branches while integrating necessary digitisation capabilities. "The magic number is R3.8bn. It could be anything else, unfortunately the fiscus doesn't have the ability to give us that and we have to appreciate that. How do we get SAPO fit for business to operate in this futuristic space that's digitalised?" Gany said. "We don't know what the funding model will be as we go out to the market. It has to be a hybrid because if it's not a hybrid and we turn only to the fiscus and the answer is no, then its a futile discussion on how to get SAPO ready for business." Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Gany said the Post Office had settled all historical and outstanding debt through the business rescue process in a compromise that saw 12 cents to the rand paid out to the creditors, with the remainder flushed into the profit and loss account. She said SAPO looked like it made profits but those were none cash profits, and they were on the back of expenses while there were some creditors in dispute and immaterial amount. Gany said SAPO was close to finalising a service-level agreement with the Post Bank in the services it delivers to it, and some of the commercial revenue streams envisaged from postal branches. Meanwhile, Post Bank acting CEO Nikki Mbengashe said it was unclear how the bank could structure the at least R3bn required for it to serve the identified niche. Mbengashe said one of the options was to obtain guarantees from the National Treasury to enable the bank to raise funding without necessarily diluting the shareholding. "How much funding do we need? A lot if we really want to build branches, if we want to build digital presence. We don't have ATMs, branches and the infrastructure we need to have to provide digital capabilities," Mbengashe said. "The minimum is R3bn. We have done that exercise, we are engaging with the board in our next meeting. We have no intention of privatising the Post Bank, but we do need funding therefore we need to find options. We have gone to the National Treasury three times and three times the National Treasury has said no." Cape Argus
Eyewitness News
28-05-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Business rescue practitioners tell MPs they've turned SAPO around
CAPE TOWN - The South African Post Office's business rescue practitioners say they've managed to turn around the ailing entity. The team of rescue practitioners is now preparing to exit the business rescue process and hand control of the entity back to management after almost three years. The rescue team briefed Parliament's communications and digital technologies committee on the finalisation of the rescue process, which saw over 4,000 retrenchments and the closure of hundreds of branches. The business rescue practitioners have previously come under fire from the committee, which said that progress was not evident over the last two years. The practitioners were also criticised in April for failing to provide the committee with an update in over four months. But on Wednesday, Fathima Gany, SAPO acting group CEO, presented a positive outlook, saying that they were in the best shape since 2012. "This resulted in the strengthening of the balance sheet and a positive net asset value of R1 billion at the end of March. This was the first time since 2012 that SAPO had a positive net asset value, so you see the benefits that you gain from a business rescue process." In terms of the status of the business rescue exit process, the team said they were in discussions with the department and were preparing a court application to terminate the business rescue proceedings.
