Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Public money, private plans: MPs demand Post Office transparency

      13 June 2025

      Coal to cash: South Africa gets major boost for energy shift

      13 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      10 red flags for Apple investors

      13 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Public sector » Barnes believes Post Office still ‘salvageable’

    Barnes believes Post Office still ‘salvageable’

    Mark Barnes, the former Post Office CEO who 18 months ago proposed a solution to bail out the failing state-owned entity, is not giving up.
    By Sandra Laurence13 April 2023
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Mark Barnes

    Mark Barnes, the former Post Office CEO who 18 months ago proposed a solution to bail out the failing state-owned entity, is not giving up despite his knock on the door of government having gone completely unanswered.

    Speaking to Bruce Whitfield on 702’s Money Show on Wednesday evening, Barnes outlined the proposal he forwarded to then minister of communications Khumbudzo Ntshavheni that he said was a completely “self-solving proposal”.

    It included the unions and was “basically to get in an independent body like the auditor-general to determine the net asset value of the group at the time of purchase, to determine the present value of forecast losses and to pay the net of those two losses”. Barnes said he would have undertaken to fund those two losses – with the aid of an international consortium.

    He said when he left the Post Office in August 2019, it was the only state-owned entity that had no outstanding liabilities and did not require any funding. Although it was not making any profits yet, it was a functional entity.

    Today, however, things are very different.

    For a start, Barnes questioned the figures being bandied about. He claimed that between 2019 and 2022, a negative R9-billion accrued, to which he added R2-billion for pension fund and medical aid liabilities, bringing the figure closer to R11-billion, not to mention tax owed.

    Read: Is it game over for the Post Office?

    But he maintained the situation is still able to be salvaged. He said three things were vital to any attempt to resuscitate the Post Office: an agreed purpose to restore a functional entity; capital of at least R8-billion to settle debts; and a management team given a mandate for three years to deliver a competent service.

    Otherwise, the jobs, data and infrastructure were all at risk of “landing up in the private sector, whose only motive is simply to make a profit”. He said if that happened, he didn’t believe more than 5% of the population would benefit from the service.  – © 2023 NewsCentral Media

    Get TechCentral’s daily newsletter



    Khumbudzo Ntshavheni Mark Barnes Post Office
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleEskom situation deteriorates further
    Next Article Ethereum’s first major upgrade since Merge completed

    Related Posts

    Public money, private plans: MPs demand Post Office transparency

    13 June 2025

    R10-billion in Post Office bailouts – what the money could have been used for instead

    14 May 2025

    Post Office has cost taxpayers R10-billion in 10 years

    8 May 2025
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.