Nothing festive about overseas delay

Thinking of exchanging gifts with loved ones overseas? Well‚ when it comes to the SA Post Office‚ it really is better to give than receive‚ because while posting parcels overseas works just fine‚ the same can’t be said for the reverse.

In fact‚ based on the post office’s current performance‚ it’s already too late for someone overseas to post a gift to a South African in time for Christmas.

On Thursday, the post office issued a statement urging South Africans to send their Christmas gifts overseas soon.

“SA has very little delay with items leaving the country‚ but these parcels have to go through time-consuming clearance procedures in the country of destination‚” the post office said.

The statement is deeply ironic‚ given that letters and parcels being sent to South Africans from overseas are being delayed by up to six months‚ including study material‚ gifts‚ credit cards from foreign banks‚ goods bought from retail sites based overseas and subscription magazines.

The post office admitted recently that there was a “substantial” backlog at its international sorting centre in Johannesburg‚ a result of a massive spike in volume and inadequate sorting equipment.

The backlog has been shifted from the international mail centre to regional sorting centres‚ and they were making good progress‚ the post office said.

But there’s no backlog when it comes to sending items by post overseas‚ so here’s advice for those planning to send Christmas gifts by post:

Don’t post anything (via air mail) containing lithium batteries. All air mail items are X-rayed and scanned for contents‚ and anything containing batteries will be re-routed to surface mail.

Air mail items should be posted no later than December 1.

For surface mail‚ the dates differ: To Britain‚ Europe‚ the Middle East‚ North and South America‚ the Far East and Asia‚ and the islands of Tristan da Cunha‚ Ascension and St Helena – post no later than October 31.

To the Seychelles‚ Comoros‚ Mauritius and Reunion – post no later than October 27. – DDC

The post office admitted recently that there was a “substantial” backlog at its international sorting centre in Johannesburg