Tebogo Msimanga |
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to Hawks Head Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya, to request an investigation into large-scale fraud at the South African Post Office (SAPO).The opposition party said South African Post office hadn’t paid R700 million towards staff medical aid contributions putting some 22 000 people at risk of losing their medical aid, all because of greed or incompetence … or both.
DA Shadow Minister of Communications Dianne Kohler Barnard said during Parliamentary communication portfolio committee meeting last week, she asked the Post Office representatives about this revelation, and it was freely admitted that the Board were fully aware of the medical aid contributions not being paid. “They claimed that the portion paid monthly by staff members and deducted automatically from their salaries, was paid to the medical aid, but that it was the 2/3 portion which was supposed to be paid by the Post office, which was not paid. It had not been paid for so long that the debt had racked up to a staggering R700 million”.
Kohler Barnard added that the claim was then made that they were talking to the medical aid about the situation. “Not only has the Post Office been in an array and a state of dysfunctionality for a decade, but it has proven to be just another failed ANC State-owned enterprise (SOE)”.
She didn’t mince her words, adding that “the Post Office only has two options left, Either the South African Post Office is privatised, or it is shut down completely”.
