By Louis Brugman
Spokesperson of Post Office Business Rescuers
Post Office business rescue: update and clarification
The joint business rescue practitioners (‘BRPs’) of the South African Post Office Limited (business rescue), Anoosh Rooplal and Juanito Damons, clarify that a covering letter was sent to the Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies via email on 13 March 2026.
The covering letter was sent to the shareholder of SAPO as part of the ongoing engagements and discussions that have been taking place regarding the challenges, and in particular, the funding requirements for the sustainability of Post Office.
The BRPs remain committed to a successful outcome of the business rescue of Post Office, and are working with government to ensure that outcome.
However, the BRPs must adhere to the statutory framework within which they operate and which dictates their duties and responsibilities in a Business Rescue.
The BRPs also shared a draft affidavit for the termination of the business rescue of Post Office.
The BRPs emphasise that no application has been submitted or filed in any court for the liquidation of the Post Office.
Whilst these discussions continue, the Post Office remains operational and in business rescue until a decision is made otherwise.
These emailed documents were highlighted by the DCDT to the Portfolio Committee of Communications and Digital Technologies in a meeting held today, with its members and the BRPs and caused misunderstanding.
The BRPS were afforded the opportunity to clarify their position.
The documents clearly outline the legal obligations that need to be upheld by the BRPs, given the dire financial position that SAPO is in, as per Chapter 6 of the Companies Act and hence the unenviable decision that needs to be taken.
It is common knowledge that the Post Office has been subject to financial and operational stress during the Business Rescue and that SAPO does not have any other sources of funding other than from its current shareholder.
The BRPs have officially communicated to the parliamentary committees and in their monthly status updates, publicly available on the SAPO website, that with the absence of the second tranche of funding from the Government, as envisaged in terms of the adopted business rescue plan, the risk of liquidation is significantly heightened.
In the draft affidavit that was shared, the BRPs explain that they must revert to the provisions of Chapter 6 of the Companies Act, to determine whether there is still a reasonable prospect of rescuing SAPO.
The letter details the dire consequences of closing the Post Office and the impact that this would have on South Africans and South Africa as an independent state.
These include the potential termination of fulfilment of SAPO’s statutory and policy mandate as the designated universal service provider under the Postal Services Act, 1998, the requirement for amended legislative and regulatory requirements, with the extinction of SAPO as designated postal operator and the impact on the fiscus due to the non-payment of SARS obligations and reputational implications for the State, given SAPO’s status as a state-owned entity and its role within the broader communications and public service landscape.
It highlights other aspects and affected parties in the process.
Liquidation of the Post Office will have a catastrophic outcome, for the country and many of its citizens who rely on its services.
The Post Bank would also be impacted due to its reliance on the Post Office’s HR and payroll IT systems, as well as the possible termination of SAPO’s FSP licence, which enables financial transactions some of which are connected to Post Bank through the SAPO branches.
If possible, liquidation should be avoided.
Responding to the misunderstanding of the nature of these documents in the Portfolio Committee today, Joint Business Rescue Practitioner, Anoosh Rooplal reiterated, “We are at sensitive and challenging stage of the business due to the non-receipt of funding from the shareholder.
There are no alternative sources of funding due to the restrictions imposed on the business rescue practitioners.
These documents were meant to inform the relevant stakeholders of our required next steps and the dire consequences of the closure of the Post Office, should it come to that and which we do not relish.
No further actions have been taken to date and the Post Office currently remains operational and in business rescue, until otherwise stated”.
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