Courier service industry up in arms over postal plans

The draft regulations, which have been printed in the Government Gazette for comment, stipulate that every courier service or any business that transports small parcels up to 30kg in weight would have to be registered with the Postal Regulator and will, in most cases, have to take out an operating licence costing up to R550 000 a year.

Furthermore, there would be a R15 000 application fee for anyone wanting a licence to deliver parcels or letters, as well as a R10 000 registration fee. It's also proposed that the licensee pay the Postal Regulator a percentage of its turnover. The Postal Regulator would also be able to fine operators up to R200 000 if they break conditions of their licences.

Postal regulator Mikie Kutta says that the idea is to re-balance the Post Office. "We have not closed the door on input from the private sector. In fact we have embarked on a countrywide road show, holding workshops to allow all interested parties to comment and express their concerns.

"Only after this road show will we compile the final regulations which will probaby be in effect early next year."

However, Peter Baker, the spokesman for the South African Express Parcel Association, says that the roadshow has been poorly publicised and that few of the thousands of businesses that could be devastatingly affected by the law are even aware that they are taking place. He also says that when the proposals were published for comment the expressed their concern but received no reply.

He goes on to say that when the act was first drafted stakeholders, including the private sector, agreed that the Post Office was entitled to monopoly protection when providing postal services to all, but that it was also agreed that the service provided by the private sector, such as the collection, delivery, and tracking of letters and parcels, set them apart from the postal sector and were therefore not subject to the act.