Post office closure confusion

The Zimbali Post Office at the Ballito Lifestyle Centre has closed, but normal services will continue at the Umhlali Post Office.

Following the closure of the Ballito Post Office in 2021, it means the North Coast is left with only the Umhlali and KwaDukuza locations still operating.

This comes amid turbulence at national level for the South African Post Office (SAPO) which was placed under provisional liquidation two weeks ago following a court order.

Two real estate companies that let space to the SAPO secured legal recourse for unpaid debts, causing the liquidation order and a partial government bailout of R2.4-billion for the state-owned enterprise.

The SAPO intends to use the funding to partially repay debts and implement a turnaround programme, but the entity has recorded financial losses for 15 years running, casting doubt on its future.

Whether this had any bearing on the local level is currently unclear, but Umhlali Post Office manager Dhilip Premlall asked for calm.

“The closure did come as a surprise and was somewhat of an overnight thing. But we are confident we can manage the extra load and I can confirm that the boxes will still be available at the Lifestyle Centre,” said Premlall.

He said the four Zimbali PO staff members had been temporarily reallocated to Umhlali, but that two were going to go to Tongaat with another potentially bound for KwaDukuza.

“All parcels at the Zimbali PO have been transferred to Umhlali and will be delivered directly to us in the future. Residents can visit during working hours to collect,” he said.

Although many people still use SAPO delivery services, its utility for much of the country is as a collection point for social grants, particularly SASSA grants.

Premlall said Umhlali had the facilities to manage the process, including card changes and card applications.

SASSA also confirmed on Tuesday that the grant payments would not be affected and that they were working on solutions for future collection.

Grant recipients can get the money paid directly into their accounts to avoid in-person collection. Visit srd.sassa.gov.za for more information on the process.

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