Johannesburg - Although the South African Post Office’s performance continues to be disappointing, this is not out of line with its forecasts and green shoots are starting to show, says CEO Mark Barnes.
Barnes says, while the Post Office is still in a mess, and the situation was worse than he thought when he joined six months ago, he’s more fired up than ever. “People are starting to invite us back into their houses.”
Speaking to IOL, Barnes reiterates that the government entity will not be profitable until at least 2018, and there is still much to be done. However, he notes, the company is now going through a granular review of its operations to make sure it has the right capacity in the right place, and he is optimistic that it can play a bigger role in South Africa.
In the year to March, it posted a R1.13 billion loss, down from R1.5 billion a year previously.
“This is not about putting makeup on a corpse; this is about curing a seriously ill patient, that’s going to take time.”
Barnes says there are opportunities for the Post Office to grow in e-commerce and financial services, as it has a negligible amount of that pie at the moment.
Read also: Post Office reports another loss
The Post Office has the opportunity to aid those who are not banked move into the formal economy, which will also help the fiscus as this will boost tax collection, Barnes says. He adds its revenue division, of about a third each for mail delivery, e-commerce and financial services, is “spot on” when benchmarked internationally.
However, says Barnes, SAPO’s competitors have “stolen our lunch” and the Post Office now needs to deliver so it can win back trust from all South Africans and move beyond the survival phase. “We are now talking about survival.”
SAPO has the systems and infrastructure to be contender in a competitive environment, although its technology is out of date and will require investment, says Barnes. He adds that this will benefit SA as its services can be offered at a lower cost point than other companies because of its network.
SAPO told Parliament a few months ago that it wanted to improve its business and get its customer base back. This followed a series of questions by MPs on its poor performance and how it would turn its business around.
One of the challenges it faces is inspiring staff to put more energy into the company. Barnes says 10 years of labour disputes have been settled, and it is now time for staff to deliver on promises.
IOL