Concern over inefficiency at post office

Residents have over the past few months raised concerns over the state of the post office in Port Shepstone.

As more people have started collecting their grants from post offices throughout the Covid-19 period, it has put more strain on the facility’s ability to accommodate these people timeously.

Hope Maxwell, a Pumula resident registered for her grant in August and has described the process of collection as an unpleasant one.

She explained that some post offices have implemented different serving structures, either by using the last three digits of a person’s ID on a certain day or by capping the daily customer limit to 150 people.

By limiting the number of people served per day, those who do not fall within that stipulated number unfortunately have to leave and return the next day, sometimes with no guarantee that they will be given first preference.

“Apart from that, it is also a health hazard. There are long queues in which people are not wearing masks or social distancing. This is going to help spread the virus even faster,” Hope explained.

Her main gripe is the lack of efficiency at the post office, especially after having difficulties registering at other outlets to collect the grant.

Additionally, with so many people dependent on this money after the hard times that Covid-19 brought about, Hope believes that better solutions should be implemented to effectively meet this demand.

Furthermore, she highlighted the fact that there are many people, especially elder residents who still find joy in writing letters or sending postcards to loved ones abroad.

Some people are not accustomed to new technology and depend on postal services to keep in touch with family and friends.

Unfortunately with the delay in postage, it now takes forever to send and receive packages via the mail.

“If it cannot be run properly, then it should just be privatised and operate that way instead. Do not say one thing in the media and not let it happen at a grassroots level,” Hope said.

The South African Post Office was contacted, however no comment was received by the time of going to print.

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