Takealot challenges Post Office's monopoly on small parcel deliveries
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
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Maverick
29-07-2025
- Daily Maverick
How UK investment is powering South Africa's jobs revolution
UK investment and partnerships are turbocharging South African jobs, housing and digital markets — with real on-the-ground impact. On Monday, 28 July, the United Kingdom (UK) Minister for Employment Alison McGovern visited Cape Town ahead of the G20 Employment Ministerial in George this week, engaging with two flagship initiatives supported by the British High Commission that are driving job creation and economic opportunity in South Africa. According to Jenna Kretzmann, communications officer of the British Consulate General, UK firms now employ more than 100,000 South Africans, fuelling vital job creation and strengthening economic resilience in a country grappling with a 32.9% overall unemployment rate and a youth unemployment rate that reached 62.4% nationally for those aged 15 to 24 in the first quarter of this year alone. UK-backed initiatives are also seeking to address deep-rooted structural challenges—in particular, the legacy of spatial segregation that continues to shape South African cities. One such initiative, Divercity, was founded in 2018, with UK-backed British International Investment playing a key role since 2021 in funding urban renewal projects that deliver affordable housing and employment. At Divercity's Salt River housing development, the Herringbone development, supported by British International Investment (BII), is powering an urban renewal engine aimed at breaking the cycle of spatial segregation that has long plagued South African cities. This project includes funding for more than 2,500 residential units, with more than 5,500 people benefiting from it. The initiative is also expected to create up to 4,000 construction and permanent jobs, offering both roofs and opportunities. 'Almost all new affordable housing delivery since 1994 has taken place at the urban periphery, entrenching spatial segregation,' noted Carel Kleynhans, CEO of Divercity, highlighting how their partnership with BII enabled commercially viable affordable housing in prime locations. E-commerce empowerment In a separate initiative, Takealot, South Africa's largest e-commerce platform, is unleashing the digital economy through its Township Digital Market Access Programme, supported by the UK-SA Tech Hub. The top 50 SMMEs in the programme have already generated about R5.7-million in sales and 39 jobs in one year. More broadly, Takealot has created 21,000 jobs and helped more than 7,500 township Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) reach new markets, illustrating how public-private innovation can fuel growth. 'We are opening up the e-commerce ecosystem, particularly to township-based entrepreneurs and small businesses…'We believe that this approach will meaningfully increase household incomes as we help create more opportunities for entrepreneurship, SMME growth and job creation,' said Fred Zietsman, CEO of Takealot. What this means for you Job seekers: UK investments mean more openings in construction, digital commerce and urban development — especially promising for youth and women. Entrepreneurs and SMMEs: More inclusion in e-commerce platforms can dramatically boost business opportunities. Urban dwellers: Projects like Divercity reduce commute costs and improve living conditions with safer, affordable housing in well-connected locations. Policy buffs: The UK-South Africa alliance models how international partnerships can go beyond aid, driving real economic transformation through sustainable jobs and innovation. DM
IOL News
22-07-2025
- IOL News
Funding shortfall jeopardises SA Post Office's business rescue plan
The South African Post Office's business rescue plan is in jeopardy after promised funds have failed to materialise. No further progress can be made in implementing the Business Rescue Plan without additional funding from the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), Messrs. Anoosh Rooplal and Juanito Damons, the business rescue practitioner (BRPs) of the SA Post Office (Sapo) said on Monday in an update. Because of this, the BRPs are consulting with their legal advisors regarding the company's potential exit from business rescue and the subsequent return of the company to its shareholder, the DCDT, along with a new appointed board. Sapo was placed under business rescue on July 10, 2023 to avoid liquidation. They said in an affidavit that they would award funding to the process, which would encompass funding of a first tranche of R2.4 billion (which was received and used for retrenchments packages) and then a second tranche of R3.8bn, which was going to be used for the infrastructure upgrade and digitilisation process. The BRPS were expecting to to get funding in March 2024 but nothing has materialised to finalise the plan and no funding was allocated to the Sapo per the medium-term budget speech. Of note, Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi announced this week that Sapo will receive R1.8bn over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), but this is not funding for the business rescue, it is a universal service obligation (USO). Due to this, a freeze has been implemented on all capital expenditure of Sapo and austerity measures were put in place last year. The BRPs said the freeze on capital expenditure included modernizing Sapo's office hardware infrastructure; building infrastructure upgrades; and IT upgrades. Only critical operational expenses are being incurred. The BRPs are continuing to engage with DCDT in relation to other possible alternatives in the interim. They said they were engaging with DCDT on the constituted Joint Sapo, DCDT and National Treasury Strategic Partners/Investment Task Team, however, the Joint Task Team is yet to convene. However, it got temporary relief of R150 million in funds. "The BRPs were informed at a meeting on 21 February 2025 of a possible virement (the process of transferring items from one financial account to another) of funds of R150m from the DCDT for working capital requirements. National Treasury has since approved the virement and the funds were received in March 2025," the BRPs said. "Although this may provide temporary relief for Sapo until the end of April 2025, the funds are not sufficient to substantially implement the Business Rescue Plan and remove the entity from Business Rescue." Additionally, R381m was allocated from the Temporary Employee-Employer Relief Scheme (TERS) in April 2025 to cover salary costs for a period of six months. A further R1.8bn has been allocated for the Post Office to fulfil its Universal Services Obligation (USO). The USO is a policy that ensures basic services, like telecommunications, are available toeveryone, regardless of their location or ability to pay. There is a shortfall to funds required. The BRPs said R3.8bn is still required to pay the remaining dividends to statutory creditors, provide enough working capital to the business, and to invest in certain infrastructure upgrades in order to sufficiently implement its turnaround strategy. Due to this funding uncertainty, the BRPs said they were aggressively focusing on collecting all outstanding debtors and increasing revenues where possible. Meanwhile, an extensive amount of work has gone into preparing a detailed strategy and financial model, and which are considered by the BRPs to be important supporting documents to the business rescue plan. The detailed strategy and financial model set out the turnaround plan and deals with the 'future proofing' component of the business rescue plan. These documents were presented to the DCDT, National Treasury and the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies. The BRPs said they have implemented the Business Rescue Plan to the extent possible despite the funding constraints. "The business rescue plan can only be fully implemented once we receive the funding or part of the funding that was committed by the government," they said. As regards creditor claims and payments, a total of 99.6% of creditor dividends of 12 cents amounting to R1 015bn have been paid on August 31, 2024. The remaining 0.4% of creditors is a combination of disputed claims and unverified landlord queries. Meanwhile, the top-up dividend of 18 cents to statutory and payroll creditors, including SA Revenue Service, the relevant medical aid schemes and the Post Office retirement fund remains outstanding and payment is conditional upon the receipt of the R3.8bn funding from the National Treasury unlessnew conditions are negotiated with these creditors. These creditors need to be paid. BUSINESS REPORT
IOL News
16-07-2025
- IOL News
The connection deception
South Africa's call centre industry is increasingly using mobile numbers for outbound calls, despite it being against ICASA regulations. Call centres are increasingly using mobile numbers for outbound calls which is effective but against regulations, making it a costly tactic in terms of reputation and brand perceptions. The ICASA 2016 Numbering Plan Regulations prohibit the use of mobile phone number ranges such as 082, 083, or 072, for example, for fixed-location services such as call centres. The cost of contravention is as high as R3 million per infringement. Yet, South Africans are enduring a radically increased volume of spam calls and a large percentage of these are from mobile numbers. These call centres are using prepaid SIM cards which have unlimited calling bundles or they're spoofing mobile numbers to increase their answer rates. Calling back is impossible and reporting them pointless – the numbers are swapped when they're flagged for abuse. This practice is effective. Call centres adopting these tactics have a 69% connect rate compared with the 29% for landlines. This is an important metric because every connection has an impact on the number of leads generated and each lead rolls through to potentially successful sales. At a time when the economic situation is challenging, it's understandable that companies are opting in despite the reputational and financial risks. Currently, the fine is the only real ramification faced by these companies, and a R3 million fine after generating potentially R50 million in revenue is just a drop in the proverbial ocean. While regulations and rulings must change to become even more onerous and rigorous, particularly to protect consumers from the onslaught of spam calls, companies have a choice to opt into a more ethical approach. An approach that minimises the impact of spam on their customers and stands in line with the work that organisations like the Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) and Vox are doing. In April, ISPA asked the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to take 'firm action to prevent the unlawful use of mobile numbers by call centres operating from fixed premises'. The company is advocating for the use of legitimate, assigned geographic numbers, supported by ISPs that have a vested interest in protecting consumers and the industry. This is not good practice. Not only does it place an additional burden on the consumer, but it is affecting those who adhere to good practice standards. Companies playing by the rules are not just falling behind but are being tarnished by the same brush – irritated consumers refusing to engage because they're on their tenth spam call of the day. Change must come from the brands. Adopting ethical best practices with service providers that align with regulations and prioritise brand reputation is the right way forward. It is also the way forward that ensures brands will be on the right side of change when the ramifications of going against regulations become increasingly onerous. They won't need to adapt their systems or find new ways of managing their contact centre processes because they'll already be ahead of the curve. For industry leaders, like Vox, taking a stand now is essential. Trusted service providers ensure companies are not exposed to any contravention of numbering or calling practices, offering value for money and contact centre support services that are designed to enhance success rates without compromising on reputation or risk. Choosing to work within a contact centre environment that's aligned with the law means your business is safeguarding your brand and sustainability. While the mobile numbers do a lot of talking, so do customers, and as word of mouth about poor practices spread, companies that stay on this side of the thin blue line are the ones that will thrive. Natalie van der Merwe, Head of Telephony and Andrew King Head Voice of Visual Comms and Microsoft at Vox.
