STAATSKOERANT, 24 JANUARIE 2014
No. 37261
Total Group Revenue (R'000)
7000000000
6000000000
5000000000
4000000000
3000000000
2000000000
1000000000
Source: South African Post Office
The Postal Services Act (Act 124 of 1998) mandates the South African Post Office (SAPO)
to provide postal services on an exclusive basis to all South Africans. According to SAPO's
Annual Report the branch network extends to 2 433 access points. These access points are
made up of 1 590 fully-fledged branches as well as 843 retail postal agencies.
The post offices are used to distribute goods, provide financial services and provide access
points to a range of government services. SAPO's Annual Report indicates that its customer
base stands at 33,7 million adults in the country.
Of the total post office network (including branch network and points of presence), 1 763
access points are located in rural areas, with the balance of 670 in urban areas. It must be
noted however, that postal services are provided mainly through agencies in rural areas.
The other mandate of SAPO is to roll-out national addresses to South Africans. In the past
five years, SAPO has provided addresses to over 10 million households. More than 70% of
these addresses are in rural and peri-urban areas. SAPO has more than 4 million postal
boxes, and about half of these are currently in use by individuals and businesses. Of the
postal boxes currently in use, about 773 000 are first addresses for private and
individual/residential use. The balance is for business use. About 43 000 individual business
addresses are in use.
According to the Banking Association of South Africa, 22,5 million people (67%) of adults in
South Africa access banking services.
The Postbank is a savings institution that operates as a division of SAPO. It provides
banking facilities to people who have previously had limited access to financial services.
Currently, the Postbank operates only as a savings bank. It has 6 million customers, or
roughly 2,6% of total market share.
The Banking Association of South Africa indicates that there are 17 registered banks in
South Africa, of which the four major banks represent 84% of total banking assets. This
makes for a highly concentrated industry. The Postbank has total assets under management
within SAPO of R10 billion.
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