THURSDAY, 10.30AM
AS government prepares for the release on Thursday of its Green Paper on restructuring of the Post Office, the parastatal, which was funded by government to the tune of R572-million last financial year, has been told to clear all debt and get into the black within five years.
This year’s Budget allowed for a R359-million subsidy to the Post Office in the 1997/98 financial year, and this is expected to be progressivley whittled away to nothing over five years. It is believed that the Post Office will be able to break even through increased efficiency, and that government is unlikely to approve steep tariff increases, large-scale retrenchments or partial privatisation of the state-owned postal service.
Until now, the Post Office has relied on steep annual tariff increases to cover the state’s decreasing subsidy, but sources in the Post Office say government plans to adopt a new, multi-pronged strategy that does not rely so heavily on tariff increases.