Members of Parliament have heard the Post Office is still not financially stable and is sitting with obsolete technologies and an outdated business model.
The organisation’s new board and management briefed Parliament’s communications committee on Tuesday about its finances and governance.
Earlier this year, the Post Office received a R1.5 billion “public service mandate” or grant from National Treasury.
MPs heard how the Post Office has not been profitable in 13 years, except in 2006 when a profit of R276 million was made.
Since then, the Post Office has suffered from insufficient working capital with costs exceeding revenues.
Post Office chairperson Tshikani Makhubele quoted Finance Minister Tito Mboweni saying the organisation was emerging from a long winter.
“We acknowledge from what we have received to date and the information that ahs been provided to the board that we have not been performing well. Our expenditure continues to exceed revenue, although we’re not indebted, we have obsolete technologies and we have an old business model that needs to be re-looked at.”
She said the Post Office would now work on reviving its public image as well as investing in new technologies as part of its turnaround.
