{"id":54110,"date":"2026-03-27T17:11:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T17:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=54110"},"modified":"2026-03-27T17:11:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T17:11:36","slug":"post-office-exit-business-rescue-sapo-liquidation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/03\/27\/post-office-exit-business-rescue-sapo-liquidation\/","title":{"rendered":"Post Office seeks to exit business rescue"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><h2>Sapo is facing an imminent cashflow shortfall.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The South African Post Office (Sapo) is working towards exiting business rescue, with officials signalling a renewed push to stabilise the struggling entity while avoiding liquidation.<\/p>\n<p>This emerged during a briefing to parliament\u2019s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies on Friday, 27 March, where business rescue practitioners (BRPs) and government outlined ongoing challenges and progress.<\/p>\n<p>Sapo entered business rescue in July 2023 after facing provisional liquidation.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, 366 branches have been permanently shut, leaving 657 still operational, while 4 342 employees were retrenched in April 2024.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-treasury-snubs-post-office-amid-business-rescue\">Treasury snubs Post Office amid business rescue<\/h2>\n<p>Hopes for direct financial relief were dashed when the National Treasury did not allocate R3.8 billion, as requested by the Post Office, in the 2026 budget.<\/p>\n<p>The department of communications and digital technologies has set aside R700 million from its budget for universal service obligations aimed at maintaining postal services in underserved communities.<\/p>\n<p>Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi told MPs on Friday that the department has discretion over how the funds are used, following engagements with Treasury this week.<\/p>\n<p>However, access to the funding is not immediate due to parliament needing to pass a bill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe spanner in the works is that, that funding doesn\u2019t become immediately available because there\u2019s a parliamentary process that is related to the Appropriations Bill,\u201d Malatsi said.<\/p>\n<p>The minister indicated that only a portion of the allocation is likely to be directed to Sapo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is an estimate amount of R350 million.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch the meeting below:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><noscript><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, 27 March 2026\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P9dWNRlMIlk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>He added that discussions are ongoing to prioritise urgent financial pressures while ensuring the funds are used effectively to avoid liquidation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to ultimately get to a balanced approach of the use of this R700 million to deal with the majority pressing issues.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-liquidation-threat-looms\">Liquidation threat looms <\/h3>\n<p>The BRPs \u2013 Anoosh Rooplal and Juanito Damons \u2013 warned that legal obligations may force them to act if the financial situation does not improve.<\/p>\n<p>Rooplal told the committee that discussions with government have intensified in recent weeks, particularly around ending the business rescue process through a court application.<\/p>\n<p>He explained that a draft termination application, first submitted in September 2025, has undergone extensive review following engagements with the communications department.<\/p>\n<p>The plan involves filing a notice of substantial implementation, delaying certain creditor payments, and ensuring at least six months of operational cashflow before handing over to a newly appointed Post Office board.<\/p>\n<p>The appointment of the board is now nearing completion, according to Rooplal.<\/p>\n<p>Rooplal, however, stressed that the lack of financial support has placed the entity under severe strain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have been following each budget speech with bated breath hoping for funding and it\u2019s now three budget speeches, of course there is no funding as we are all aware.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He warned that Sapo is facing an imminent cashflow shortfall, therefore, funding was needed.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-legal-constraints\">Legal constraints <\/h3>\n<p>Although liquidation is not the preferred route, the practitioners say they will be legally compelled to consider it if recovery is no longer viable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe that liquidation is value destructive and of course that\u2019s not our first priority. The BRPs have always acted responsibly,\u201d Rooplal said.<\/p>\n<p>He also highlighted that the approved business rescue plan restricts key recovery options.<\/p>\n<p>The plan binds both creditors and government as shareholder, preventing the sale of assets or raising funds through borrowing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are not allowed to sell portions of the business or privatise it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite submitting a draft liquidation application to the department on 13 March, the BRPs maintain that shutting down the Post Office remains a last resort.<\/p>\n<p>Following meeting with Malatsi on Thursday, Rooplal indicated that the plan is to exit the business rescue process \u2013 provided funding is secured.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is really just dependent on getting approval of this funding so we can handover the business to the shareholder and hopefully a new board that the strategic objectives and the vision can then be implemented.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Post #Office #seeks #exit #business #rescue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sapo is facing an imminent cashflow shortfall. The South African Post Office (Sapo) is working towards exiting business rescue, with&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54110"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54112,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54110\/revisions\/54112"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}