The Post Office can once again deliver to the people of South Africa

AS I write this, ’'m reminded of an old proverb: “A cat that dreams of becoming a lion must begin by losing its appetite for rats.”

- NYANISO QWESHA | Cape Town

If the South African Post Office (SAPO) dreams of becoming a lion — again a proud, reliable national institution — it must first stop feeding on the habits that have made it weak.

Fixing SAPO is not about nostalgia or sentimentality. Its about national survival. With more than a thousand branches scattered across the country from bustling cities to forgotten rural towns, SAPO holds what no private company can replicate: national reach and public trust.

Used wisely, this vast network could anchor two of South Africa’s most urgent priorities: financial inclusion and e-commerce logistics. Yet for decades, the Post Office has been allowed to decay into a symbol of inefficiency, long queues, lost mail, unpaid workers, and missed opportunities.

It has become the poster child of how state institutions collapse when political leadership looks the other way.