The Department of Communications intends introducing the South African Post Office Bill into Parliament before end of 2009. Written comments on the proposed Bill must be received within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice (i.e.
Post to: Private Bag X860 Pretoria 0001 or deliver to: First Floor, Block A3 iParioli Office Park 399 Duncan Street Hatfield or fax to: (012) 427 8059 fax 0866822810 or e-mail to: sapobill@doc.gov.
Ms Phindile Dlamini can be reached at tel.
To provide for the repeal of the Post Office Act (No. 44 of 1958) and to provide anew provisions regarding the governance and the structure of the Postal Company, and provide for matters connected therewith.
Africa Act, 2000 (Act No.
"Companies Act" means the companies act, 1973 (Act No.
"Non Reserved postal services" means non reserved postal services contemplated in schedule 2 of the Postal Services Act, 1998 Act No.
"PFMA" means the public Finance Management Act, 999 (Act No.
"Regulation" means regulation under this Act; "Staff" means the staff of the Postal Company;.
(4)The Postal Company mu~t have articles of association providing, among.st other things, that the affairs of the company must be managed by a board of directors appointed by the Minster.
t5 Government may dispose of its share or any portion thereof only after having offered the shares to be disposed off, to the postal company on the same conditions of the proposed disposal, and the postal company having refused to buy such shares.
purchase or acquire in any way land, buildings, agencies, equipment, st.
to do any such other act as It may be authorized to do under this Act.
The Minister may in consultation with the Minister of Finance, out of money appropriated for the purpose, grant an annual subsidy to the Postal Company in respect of normal expenditure.
A request for a subsidy must be prepared by the Postal Company to the Minister by a date determined by the Minister in order for it to be subjected to the evaluation process for inclusion in the annual compilation and exposition of the Government's expenditure proposal for appropriation purposes.
The payment of subsidies must be for such purposes and periods and subject to such conditions as the Minister may determine in consultation with the Minister of Finance.
the party providing the information must be given an opportunity to withdraw the information that is the subject of the confidentiality request in terms of subsection (c).
two executive directors shall be chosen from trade unions organizing in the company.
In the appointment of the Board, the National Assembly must submit to the Minister a list of suitable candidates received from participation by the public in the nomination process at least one and half times the number of Board to be appointed.
The National Assembly may invite technical experts to assist in the selection, evaluation and appointment process of the Board.
a representative from consumer interest.
The Minister must recommend to the National Assembly, from the list contemplated in sUbsection (3) persons whom he or she proposes to appoint to serve on the Board.
If the National Assembly is not satisfied that the persons recommended for appointment by the Minister comply with subsection (10), the National Assembly may request the Minister to review his or her recommendation.
Following approval by the National Assembly of the Minister's recommendation for appointment, the Minister must appoint the Chairperson or other member as Deputy Chairperson by Notice in the gazette.
The Chairperson must in writing appoint a member as Acting Chairperson to perform the functions of the Chairperson in his or her absence and where the Chairperson is unable to make an appointment the remaining members must from their number elect an acting Chairperson.
possess suitable qualifications, expertise and experience in the field of ICT, postal policy, public policy development, law, education, marketing, finance, economics, or any other relevant expertise or qualifications.
will uphold and protect the Constitution and the laws of the Republic, including this Act and the underlying statutes.
has been sentenced, after the commencement of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1993 (Act No.
A person who is subject to a disqualification contemplated in subsection (4)(a) to (d) may be nominated for appointment as a Board mernber, but may only be appointed if at the time of such appointment he or she is no longer subject to that disqualification.
The. members of the Board shall be appointed for such period, not exceeding five years, as the Minister may in the case of each member determine, and any retiring member may be reappointed as a member of the Board unless removed from his or her office or disqualified as hereinafter provided.
The Board may from time to time delegate to the senior management of the Postal Company any of its powers under this Act in writing and may delegate any such power for such period and for such purposes and subject to such conditions and restrictions as it may deem expedient and necessary.
he or she becomes insolvent.
If he or she is removed by the Minister by notice to the company before the expiration of his or her period.
If a majority of the directors recommend that she /he should resigns and the member accepts the recommendation.
The Chairperson may atany time convene an extraordinary meeting.
The Board may appoint committees consisting of as many members of the Board, staff of the postal company, advisers to the postal company and other persons as may be deemed necessary to advise the Board in general or on any particular matter.
The Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operations Officer and Chief Financial Officer, shall be appointed by the board in consultation with the Minister and shall collectively be referred to in this Act as the Senior Management of the postal company.
pay staff and/or advisers appointed in terms of such remuneration, allowances, subsidies and other service benefits in accordance with a remuneration structure as may be determined from time to time by senior management in consultation with the Board, subject to the approval of the Minister.
The salaries and allowances of the Senior Management and of the staff and other persons employed by the company, and all other expenditure incurred by the postal company, shall be paid out of its funds.
the profit and loss account for the preceding year.
After allowing for the expenses of operations during each year, and making provision for the statutory reserve account, bad and doubtful debts, depreciation of fixed assets and such other contingencies, the Board shall determine the amount and declaration of any dividends for that year, which dividends shall be declared and paid into the state Revenue fund.
The board may.
Any decision of a committee performing a function or exercising a power of the Board shall be tabled at a Board meeting and may be withdrawn or amended by the Board or referred back to such committee and shall, when it has been so withdrawn or amended, be deemed to be a decision of the Board.
A member of the Board other than the executive member of the board shall be paid for his or her services as member such remuneration and allowances out of the funds of the postal company as determined, by the Minister in writing.
Postal Company and its business.
The Minister or any officer in the public service authorised by him or her in writing, shall have full access to all the accounts, documents and papers of the postal company, and the Board shall at all times furnish to him or her all such information as he or she may reasonably require.
The Board shall appoint an independent external auditor as the auditor of the Postal Company on the same basis as set out in the Compan ies Act.
The Postal Company must not cross-subsidize non-reserved services from the reserved services.
generally for fully and effectually carrying out and giving effect to the objects and purposes and for guarding against violations of this Act.
such policies and regulations may be made by the Minister also on recommendation by the Board.
No liability shall attach to the Government, the postal company or, either in his or her official or personal capacity, the Minister or any member of the Board or employee, agent of the postal company, for any loss sustained by or damage caused to any person as a result of anything done or omitted by the Minister, such member of the Board or such other employee, agent of the Postal Company, unless he/she was negligent.
Any person who, having any interest in any transaction under this Act, acts as an adviser in connection with such transaction, or sits at any meeting of the Board and votes upon any resolution having reference to such transaction, shall be guilty of an offence and be subjected to the normal legal process.
Members of the Public are hereby invited to make written comments on the draft South African Post Office Bill. The Bill will be available electronically on the DoC website.
This consultation document has identified the best way that will address, the issues of corporate governance of who and how the South African Post office will be managed.
Members of the public must submit written comments by no later than 16hOO on the 02 September 2009.
Comments may be Posted by registered mail to the private bag mentioned above EmailedtoSapobill@doc.gov.za Any enquiries can be made to Phendile Dlamini Tel 012427 8169 Fax: 0124278159 An electronic version of this consultation document and the draft bill can be accessed on the internet at: www.doc.gov.za. For further information, the Department can be contacted at: 012 427 8106/8529/7017 1.
The South African Post Office is established in terms of the Post Office Act no 44 of 1958 which governed both the Post and Telecommunications services. In 1991 the Post Office Amendment Act (1991) separated the traditionally combined Post and telecommunication services provided through a state department and created two separate independent corporatized companies.
Telkom SA Ltd was established to provide telecommunications services and the South African Post Office Ltd to provide postal services. With the separation of the entities they became commercialization companies and the Post Office became a wholly owned government company with a board of directors and management board with requirements associated with private companies in terms of the Post Office Act.
The South African Post Office as a legal entity is not only obliged to balance revenue and expenditure but also to make profit. The Company is responsible for meeting its universal service obligation and for shouldering all of its obligations and its liabilities for commercial risks. The company is given a high level of managerial autonomy and flexibility.
The explicit separation of ownership and management responsibility through the board of directors is designed to insulate the post office from a non commercial pressure and constraints. Despite the high level of managerial and organizational autonomy and flexibility the postal company is accountable to government, operates within the Postal Services Act No 124 of 1998, is subjected to regulatory oversight by the Independent Communications Authority Of South Africa (lCASA).
As a public company SAPO's finances are governed by the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act No 1 of 1999 (PFMA). The Minister of Communications is responsible of oversight in relation to financial issues as the Executive Authority.
SAPO has the mandate to provide basic postal services to all South Africans. With reform in the sector the mandate has been extended to include the use of ICT infrastructure as well as the offering of other services other than in the traditional postal services.
The White Paper on Postal Policy (1996) provides for guidelines for the structure and management of the South African Board. SAPO is established in terms of the Postal services Act No 44 of 1958 and governed in terms of the Companies Act No 61 of 1973, the Public Finance Management Act No 1 of 1999, the articles and memorandum of association. There is currently no legislation that comprehensively deals with issues of governing the SAPO. As a company established in line with the Companies Act SAPO has to comply with this legislation in relation to the management and operational issue that apply in the company.
The Postal Services Act No 124 of 1998 provides for the postal issues operations, and does not deal with issues of shareholder governance explicitly. The Post Office Act of 1958 itself only addressed issues of corporate governance to shareholder satisfaction. It did not address the relationship between government and the Board of Directors as well as the relationship between the Board and Executive Management of the Company and how the board is appointed. Subsequent to that, it became apparent that the new law should be established to deal with issues of corporate governance of the South African Post Office.
The South African Post Office Bill is aimed at providing a comprehensive legal framework addressing corporate governance at SAPO in a single act focusing on SAPO as a legal entity. Government has a fundamental obligation to ensure the provision of universal service is achieved in respect of postal services. The establishment of this legislation will put in place institutional arrangements that best foster efficiency and improve competitiveness and enhance accountability.
Preamble sets out the main purpose of the proposed South African Post Office Bill.
This chapter provides for the interpretation of words as they are used in the legislation. It also provides for the objects of the proposed legislation and the objectives of the board of directors. The main aim is to ensure that the board performs its function with achieving objectives set forth by the shareholder are achieved.
The chapter Provides for the ownership of the postal including the powers and functions of the owner as well as the rights attached to ownership. The responsibilities of the Postal Company, the powers and functions of the Post Office Board is to realize its objectives, setting out the of the companies main objective in line with government policy.
The section provides for what type of transactions that management can perform on behalf of the company, without requesting for government approval of the company. A detailed list of the powers is outlined.
Provision is made in this section for the company to make an application for a subsidy including which Ministers are involved in the process. The requirements which SAPO must comply with in order to get government support.
The section provides for the control and management of the company, requirements for the board members, the procedure to be followed in selecting applicants, number of board members to serve on the board, the number of board members. The appointment of the chairperson and the deputy chairperson of the board. Duration of the term of office including the disclosure of the board members.
The Department would therefore appreciate receiving all suggestions for improvements to the current proposal in order to develop a sound solution to the governance of the corporation.