The residents of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality who partook in the public hearings on the SA Post Office Amendment Bill expressed an overwhelming support for the Bill in its current form.
However, they raised a few points that the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies should consider during its deliberations on the Bill at the end of the public hearings process. They suggested that the committee should consider broadening the scope of the post office’s work and ensure that it is compatible with the modern-day digital world. The residents further appealed to the committee to ensure that post office outlets are refurbished to include public toilets.
The Ekurhuleni metro public hearings were the fourth and last one according to the committee’s programme and it was held at the Sam Hlalele Community Hall in Tembisa. From here on, the committee will consider all public inputs from Overberg District in the Western Cape, Amatole District in the Eastern Cape and Vhembe District in Limpopo during its deliberations on the Bill.
The committee also took time to respond to some of the service delivery issues raised by members of the public during the public hearings that are unrelated to the Bill, such housing, community safety and job opportunities. The committee undertook to take up these issues outside its portfolio with the relevant committees in the National Assembly.
The Bill seeks, amongst other things, to amend the South African Post Office SOC Ltd Act, 2011, so as to provide for the revised duties and expand on the mandate of the South African Post Office, as provided for in this Act and in the Postal Services Act, 1998; as well as to provide for the repurposing of the Post Office’s infrastructure so as to provide diversified and expanded services and exploit the infrastructure capacity to extract value and forge partnerships with other stakeholders.
These public hearings were held in line with Section 59(1)(a) of the Constitution, which requires the National Assembly to facilitate public involvement in the legislative and other processes of the National Assembly and its committees.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES, MR BOYCE MANELI.
For media enquiries or interviews with the Chairperson, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Mr Justice Molafo
Tel: 021 403 8444
Cell: 081 424 7481
Email: jmolafo@parliament.gov.za
