Communications minister Solly Malatsi has dismissed as “premature” a move by the South African Post Office’s business rescue practitioners to file for the liquidation of the embattled state-owned company, saying ongoing discussions between his department and national treasury are focused on finding a way forward.
In a statement issued late Friday, Malatsi said his office had received a letter from business rescue practitioners Anoosh Rooplal and Juanito Damons expressing their intention to file for the Post Office’s liquidation.
“It is my view that any talk of liquidation at this stage is premature given the extensive ongoing conversations within government, particularly between the department and national treasury, regarding the prevailing situation at the Post Office,” Malatsi said.
“These engagements are focused on finding a way forward that balances the urgency of the Post Office’s situation, the welfare of the staff and the responsible use of limited public funds, in the best interests of the country.”
The move by the rescue practitioners has been long anticipated. Under the Companies Act, business rescue practitioners are obliged to file for liquidation if there is no reasonable prospect of rescuing a company. The Post Office has been in business rescue — a form of bankruptcy protection — since July 2023, and the process has been hampered by a failure by government to release a R3.8-billion second tranche of funding needed to complete the turnaround plan.
If liquidated, the Post Office 5 500 remaining staff members will likely lose their jobs.
No funding
The rescue practitioners have repeatedly warned that without the R3.8-billion, the business rescue plan cannot be fully implemented. The funds were earmarked for infrastructure upgrades, digitisation of the business, working capital and the payment of outstanding creditor obligations. An initial R2.4-billion tranche was released in 2023 and was used to cover retrenchment costs and stabilise operations.
National treasury has consistently refused to allocate the money. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana excluded the bailout from both the 2024 and 2025 national budgets, and the 2026 budget, delivered last month, again made no direct provision for the Post Office. Treasury has maintained that it is not legally bound to provide the funding.
Read: Why Solly Malatsi was right to bury the Post Office monopoly
The Post Office has instead been receiving annual allocations from the communications department for its universal service obligations. These funds fall far short of what is needed to complete the rescue.
Tensions between Malatsi and the rescue practitioners have simmered for months. In December 2025, Malatsi gazetted amendments removing the Post Office’s exclusive right to deliver parcels weighing less than 1kg — a monopoly the rescue practitioners said their turnaround strategy had relied upon for future revenue projections. Deputy communications minister Mondli Gungubele publicly distanced himself from the decision, telling parliament he had not been consulted.
There has also been friction within the government of national unity over the Post Office’s future, with the DA appearing more inclined towards privatisation and the ANC insisting on preserving jobs and continuity. A task team had been exploring private sector partnership options following a request for information issued in November that attracted more than 100 proposals.
Read: Malatsi buries Post Office monopoly the market ignored
Malatsi’s statement on Thursday suggests government is not yet ready to let the Post Office go, despite the rescue practitioners’ assessment that the entity’s viability is no longer sustainable without further state funding. — (c) 2026 NewsCentral Media
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