Latest news with #R1.48
The Citizen
3 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Increased risks of cyberattacks, limited skills among Sapo's challenges
The Sapo aims to move from a loss of R1.03 billion in 2025 to a net profit of R1.48 billion in 2029. The South African Post Office (Sapo) has a plan in place to turn its business around by 2029. However, several hurdles remain that it must overcome to reach its goals. In 2023, the state-owned enterprise entered business rescue with R8.7 billion in outstanding debt to creditors. It requested a R3 billion bailout at the end of 2024 to avoid liquidation, but National Treasury decided against the move. ALSO READ: Post Office rescue plan is working, but more money is needed For the financial year 2024-25, Business Rescue Practitioners (BRP) managed to pay creditors R1 billion. On Tuesday, Sapo presented its corporate plan to the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, outlining its strategy for turning things around over the next five years. Sapo's corporate plan Acting CEO Fatima Gani stated that the entity is exploring the formation of partnerships with e-commerce platforms and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to unlock new revenue streams. Public-private partnerships would also help modernise Sapo infrastructure without requiring full privatisation, she said. The Sapo hopes to reach the R5 billion mark in revenue; however, this can only be achieved with the help of investments. ALSO READ: Union fights liquidation of Sapo while govt says it cannot bail it out 'If we had to achieve this revenue stream, there needs to be an investment, whether it's through a partnership, capital injection, equity injection, or raising funds on our own. We need those investments to make Sapo fit for business, to achieve a diversified revenue stream,' said Gani. 'We are forecasting to be breaking even around 2027–2028, which means working capital stress that we feel, and we keep on coming back to the government to say please help us fund this organisation, will fall away as we are on our investments from our diversified revenue stream.' Market threats Among other threats, Sapo will have to outplay increasing competition from more agile and technologically advanced private sector operators amid a decline in demand for traditional postal services. It will have to find growth amid weak economic conditions and increasing business costs, which will negatively impact Sapo's operational costs. There is also a threat of an increase in cyberattacks, which have recently targeted the public sector. Security costs are expected to increase by 6% per annum due to network expansion over the next five years. ALSO READ: Ramaphosa signs Post Office Bill into law 'This one keeps me awake at night, as it is relevant, and we have seen it happening in the public and private sectors. Unfortunately, if the very clever people put their minds into something positive, we would be ahead of this, but these very clever people join the dark side of the world,' said Gani. 'They are always a step ahead. How do you stay on top of cyberattacks? As a national asset, we hold critical information regarding citizens, including their personal information, residences, and addresses. This is something that keeps me awake at night.' Escalating operational costs, including employee wages, transport, and security services, exacerbate Sapo's financial distress. Employee salaries Last month, Sapo and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) reached an agreement to fund employee salaries for the last half of the year. The Ters scheme will inject R381 million to assist 5 956 employees. Gani lamented that the Sapo's slow pace to embrace digital transformation has limited its ability to compete effectively with the private sector. This is in addition to the limited skills to transform and modernise the entity 'We have multiple vacancies from a leadership perspective. We have limited skills internally.' The Sapo aims to move from a loss of R1.03 billion in 2025 to a net profit of R1.48 billion in 2029. READ NEXT: More millions to save jobs at SA Post Office
IOL News
03-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Ratepayer associations demand accountability in eThekwini's infrastructure projects
Ratepayer associations in the eThekwini Municipality continue to advocate for oversight of infrastructure projects to ensure budgets are spent accordingly and get value for money. Image: File Ratepayer associations in the eThekwini Municipality continue to advocate for oversight of infrastructure projects to ensure budgets are spent accordingly and get value for money. Alicia Kissoon, eThekwini Ward 23 and Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor, said they were alarmed by the findings presented at the Finance Committee meeting of March 2025, which confirm that the municipality is failing to invest in basic infrastructure while its financial position worsens. Kissoon said the municipality has spent just 7.87% of its total budget on capital projects like water, housing, and electricity. Kissoon stated that the municipality claims 96% of its grant funding has been spent, including internal transfers and operational costs. However, according to the municipality's own financial tables, only 55% of capital grants have been spent, leaving over R1.48 billion outstanding. 'That means for every rand spent, only eight cents went toward real, long-term service delivery. Meanwhile, the city's cash on hand has fallen to just 38 days, raising serious concerns about financial stability. The coalition in eThekwini is not building a city; it is managing decline - taps are dry, roads are crumbling, and funds meant for infrastructure are stuck in red tape.' Kissoon said that the DA will be tabling questions to the Finance Committee, calling for: A breakdown of capital projects by department and ward. Full disclosure of which grants are delivering infrastructure and which remain idle. The eThekwini Residents and Ratepayers Association (ERRA) chairperson Ish Prahladh said it was evident that there was neglect on water and road infrastructure in the municipality. 'Contractors that are appointed for our water, electricity, and roads infrastructure are failing us. Those appointing these failing contractors also need to be brought to book. There is no supervision to these contractors and sign offs after a job is being completed by city officials,'Prahladh said. 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. 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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 ✕ The ERRA believes that the ratepayers' money is being misused and overspent as long as jobs are not quoted and finished properly. Prahladh said to save money, the municipality should use ward-based contractors. 'Plumbers do not know where the valves are; they spend a whole shift looking for valves and closing them. Then another shift looks for leaks and then another shift comes to repair the leak and starts looking for spares and then another shift fixes the leak and goes and then bursts again a few metres away. This is a waste of money,' Prahladh said. The ERRA believes that jobs are still issued to contractors that do not know what they are doing. 'Ratepayers should be included in the final assessment on contractors because we are on the ground with the contractors helping them. We even provide security for them on most occasions to help them complete the job,' Prahladh said. The eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement (ERPM) chairperson Asad Gaffar claimed that the DA has taken far too long to highlight the municipal flaws despite having a seat in the Finance Portfolio Committee. 'The movement has been saying this since inception. To make matters worse, the DA should be interrogating every expenditure that comes for sign-off. The fact that the administration had failed to spend its budget rests also on the DA. Putting a comment out that they are asking for an investigation shows that they have no clue what is going on,' Gaffar said.
