SA Post Office’s long-term role in eradicating poverty
Sunday 17 October was International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
South Africa’s National Development Plan aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030, and education is one of the key factors that give the youth better opportunities.
The SA Post Office and the non-profit organisation Nal’ibali play an important role in giving over 60 000 children in South Africa a head start in reading.
Nal’ibali produces quarterly reading material for young learners in their mother languages, while the SA Post Office makes the reading material available for collection at its branches at no cost.
Research has indicated that children who start reading in their mother language have a much better understanding of what they are reading than those who start reading in a foreign language. This advantage remains present through their years of study.
The reading supplements are published in South Africa’s 11 official languages and if you are a teacher, learner, caregiver or librarian and you are interested in joining Nal’ibali please send an email to info@nalibali.org(link sends e-mail). Your email should give:
The name and postcode of your local post office
The name of your reading club, school or library
A cell phone number of the school or reading club that can be put on the address label.
Social grants
Further, social grants bring vital relief for poverty and are a major stability factor in South Africa where millions of citizens rely on these grants for their survival.
The SA Post Office, with its extensive network of outlets, plays a vital role in paying out grants to beneficiaries every month. This role was expanded when government introduced the SRD grant in response to the economic hardship caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
From October this year the grants have become even more accessible, as the Post Office added more channels. The SRD grants can now also be collected at Pick ‘n Pay and Boxer supermarkets.
Sending money home
Statistics South Africa estimates that 2,9 million economic migrants, mainly from the SADC region, live and work in South Africa.
Migrants need an affordable, quick and reliable service to send money home to their families, and the SA Post Office fulfils this need. The Money Transfer service provided by the SA Post Office is cost-effective.
The money is available same day in the destination country. No bank account is required.
The SA Post Office’s Money Transfer Service is offered through the Universal Postal Union and automates the processing and management of international money orders.
The service is particularly cost effective compared with other money transfer operators. Money can be sent to Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Nigeria, Mauritius, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi and eSwatini and commission is as follows:
Up to R500.00: R44.50
R500.01 – 999.99 R66.60
R1000.00 – 1999.99 R81.50
R2000.00 – 5000.00 R103.60
Unlike other money transfer operators where both the sender and recipient are charged, the recipient is not charged when the sender uses the SA Post Office to remit money.
The money can be sent from any post office in South Africa and collected from any post office in the receiving country. The service is not available from postal agents.
An identity document or passport, as well as proof of residence, are required to send and collect money in South Africa.
The SA Post Office plays a pivotal role in the relief of poverty by providing access to diverse products and services through a network of outlets extending beyond South Africa’s deep rural areas and into African countries that have close economic ties with Mzansi.
Source: Government of South Africa