AS the South African Post Office (Sapo) continues to face financial turmoil, following the retrenchment of more than 6 000 employees, the EFF has come forth and said the entity needs its debt scrapped to help survive.
This forms part of the solutions the red berets will put forward should they win the elections.
On Friday, 5 April, EFF spokesman, Sinawo Thambo said the business rescue plan, which was given the greenlight in November 2023 was "heartless and unjust" further condemning the retrenchment of 4 700 Sapo workers.
“This heartless decision, driven by business rescue practitioners, is a grave injustice to the livelihoods of thousands of hardworking individuals who have dedicated their lives to serving the public.
“The fact that nearly 42% of the existing Sapo workforce is targeted for retrenchment is a stark indictment of the current government's failure to protect workers' rights and uphold their dignity,” said the party.
Thambo said this a day after Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele said Sapo is fully functional and stable.
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Previously, Daily Sun reported how the business rescue plan was proposed to retrench up to 6 000 Sapo employees. The retrenchment plan was proposed in 2023 as part of a medium-term plan to reduce the number of employees at the post office from over 16 000 in 2020 to 9 000 in 2024.
The business rescue plan was endorsed by creditors and received a majority vote following the business rescue practitioners' meeting with creditors. The rescue plan, structured in two phases, will be rolled out over two to five years.
According to Thambo, despite Sapo receiving a substantial R2,4 billion bailout last year, bringing the total to R10,3 billion between 2016 and 2024 the entity continues to face financial turmoil.
“It's also deeply troubling to witness the closure of 235 post offices across the country, disproportionately affecting regions such as the Free State, North West, North Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
“These closures not only deprive communities of essential postal and banking services but also exacerbate the unemployment crisis gripping our nation,” Thambo said.
