Deputy communications minister Mondli Gungubele has publicly distanced himself from minister Solly Malatsi’s decision to strip the South African Post Office of its exclusive right to deliver parcels weighing less than 1kg – a move that business rescue practitioners warn has undermined the entity’s turnaround strategy.
Speaking during a portfolio committee last week, Gungubele said he had not been consulted on the decision to gazette the policy direction in December 2025.
“I did not have line of sight to the decision to gazette the policy direction,” Gungubele told MPs. He added that should records exist demonstrating he had been consulted, he would correct his position, but said he was not aware of having been involved.
The intervention was notable given that Gungubele made the statement voluntarily, requesting an opportunity to place his position on record after the committee’s acting chair, Ibraheem Subrathie, had already moved to close discussion on the matter.
Malatsi gazetted the removal of the Post Office’s exclusive right over sub-1kg parcels on 12 December, days before parliament rose for recess – timing that drew pointed criticism from Subrathie.
“I am not impressed with how the gazetting has been handled,” Subrathie said, describing the decision as appearing “reckless” in light of evidence presented during the meeting. He said the timing had limited parliamentary oversight of a material policy decision.
Monopoly no more
Malatsi defended the process, telling the committee that the decision followed a formal public comment period and was evidence-based. He said seven submissions had been received, five of which supported amending or removing Post Office’s exclusive rights, while two – including one from the company itself – favoured retention. He rejected suggestions that the timing was intended to evade scrutiny.
“Disagreements between the executive and the committee on policy decisions are neither unusual nor improper,” Malatsi said.
Read: Why Solly Malatsi was right to bury the Post Office monopoly
However, the consequences of the decision for the Post Office appear significant. Business rescue practitioner Anoosh Rooplal told MPs that the turnaround strategy had modelled future revenue on retaining the sub-1kg monopoly. With that assumption removed, its projected break-even point would be pushed further into the future unless alternative revenue streams were secured.
The Post Office’s interim head of legal, Mukovhe Ravhura, said the gazette had a “negative impact” on the entity’s recovery strategy. He explained that its delivery model was structured to cross-subsidise costs across hybrid mail, bulk mail and small parcels using a single delivery footprint. Losing the parcel exclusivity meant the Post Office would still bear the delivery costs for the other streams without the offsetting parcel revenue.
The Post Office remains under severe financial pressure. The R3.8-billion second tranche of government funding committed as part of the business rescue plan has not been received, and Rooplal warned that the entity had not moved away from the risk of liquidation.
“Sapo is not yet out of the woods,” he said.
Read: Malatsi buries Post Office monopoly the market ignored
Gungubele, for his part, reminded the committee that the cabinet had opted for business rescue rather than liquidation because “it could not countenance the closure of Sapo, given its role in servicing the poor, unemployed and remote communities”. – (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media
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