Stamp of approval for democracy

South Africa celebrates Freedom Day on Monday 21 March 2022, and the SA Post Office is one of the unsung heroes of democracy in South Africa.

The SA Post Office works closely with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to verify the addresses of voters in informal and rural settlements, where formal street names and numbers do not exist. In this way the Post Office helps to ensure that all eligible South African have the right to vote, which is one of the most basic democratic rights.

During the past financial year the SA Post Office issued 637000 new addresses, mainly to new dwellings in informal and rural areas. Without a formal address, it is impossible to vote, open a bank account, or call out an emergency vehicle with clear directions about where the emergency is.

The SA Post Office has issued several limited edition stamps over time to celebrate Freedom Day and the events that led to it, such as the Freedom Charter, heroes of the freedom struggle and more. These stamps are sold out and have now become collectors’ items.

The Post Office brings several other government services to the people. The Post Office-Postbank partnership facilitates the payment of around 8 million SASSA grants per month. The Post Office was initially the sole agency for the payment of the R350 SRD grant; since then, Pick ‘n Pay, Boxer, Shoprite, Checkers and USave supermarkets have partner-shipped with the SA Post Office providing beneficiaries additional sites to collect their R350 grant.

South Africa will soon switch from analogue to digital television transmission. All indigent households had – and still have – the opportunity to register for a subsidised decoder at their local post office, and in fact teams of Post Office employees took to the streets to encourage households to register.

Patients who receive chronic medication from a government clinic can opt to collect it from a convenient post office in areas where there is a demand for it. During the last financial year around 3 million motor vehicle licences were renewed at Post Office outlets, and the SA Post Office recently launched a website where vehicle owners can renew their car licences online.

The Post Office plans to extend its relationship with government further, so that it can make more government services accessible to the people.

Source: Government of South Africa