Post Office monopoly on deliveries under 1kg will have devastating consequences, warns lawyer mybroadband.co.za - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mybroadband.co.za Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
It’s no secret. Most South African’s have no faith in the SA Post Office. Many tell stories of lost packages, late mail or treasured items that have seemingly vanished. There’s further evidence to suggest this. A 2019 article published on MyBroadband notes that 80% of online shoppers do not trust the Post Office to deliver their packages. Despite this, the 29-year old SOE – together with ICASA (Independent Communications Authority of South Africa) – are fighting to stop private courier companies from delivering packages that weigh less than 1kg. Anton Roets, the attorney representing PostNet and the South African Express Parcel Association, has said if the Post Office and ICASA are successful, it could have “devastating consequences.” Roets was quoted saying “you will be required to use the services of a state-owned enterprise without certainty of when, and even if, the package will arrive.”
Post Office wants to stop couriers from delivering items that weigh less than 1kg Updated
Poelano Malema
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You might never be able to have your clothes, gadgets or electronics that weigh less than 1kg delivered to your door again. Delivery/iStock
South Africans rely on courier companies to deliver many products to their homes. These includes gadgets, bank cards, medicine, vehicle licenses, clothes, electronics, and other stuff they purchase online.
These items are often delivered by different courier companies which businesses hire to ensure their customers get their goods delivered safe and on time.
Although there are many courier companies delivering small and large items across the country, it is only the South African Post Office that has exclusive rights to deliver items which fall under the sub-1kg category (items that weigh 1kg or less).
Post Office to block small parcels from being delivered by couriers in South Africa
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The South African Post Office is heading to court to block courier companies from delivering packages weighing 1kg and less.
In a ruling handed down in late 2019, communications regulator Icasa found that PostNet had contravened the Postal Services Act by transporting and delivering such packages.
As the only operator of this kind in South Africa, the Post Office has the exclusive right to provide delivery services for all letters, postcards, printed matter, small parcels, and other postal articles up to and including 1kg.
PostNet was initially ordered to stop delivering all packages weighing 1kg and less by 17 March 2020. However, it secured an interdict which allowed it to continue to deliver these packages until the full challenge was heard in the Gauteng High Court.