SA Post Office is long since dead and gone

The SA Post Office is a dead horse(“catastrophe warning if Post Office does not get bailout”, DD Nov 15). Saying that failure to allocate more funds will be catastrophic to service delivery implies some actual service delivery. The situation already is catastrophic.

The rot set in during the almost endless strikes when the public realised the Post Office could not be relied on and switched to electronic correspondence wherever possible.

After that, inept and/or corrupt “leadership” finished off this once proud organisation.

Over the past four years the mail sent to me declined steadily, until about three months ago it ceased altogether.

Most of the post offices in my area have closed, some permanently, others temporarily, because of nonpayment of rent or utilities. There are neither vehicles nor fuel to deliver the post.

Two months ago I decided to do my own check: I posted half a dozen letters to myself from different post offices. No surprise: not one of the letters has arrived to date.

For all practical purposes the Post Office does not exist anymore as a postal service, which raises the question what its staff do to keep themselves busy.

In the meantime, if we want a letter delivered we are in the hands of courier services hundreds of rands to post a few grams.

Retail chain Pep stores, has seen the opportunity and offers the vestiges of a private but affordable postal system, however imperfect and expensive it might be. But it is better than the nothing we the Post Office offers.