ANC is on a mission to stop R350 grants
13 September 2022
Note to editors: Please find attached soundbite by Dianne Kohler Barnard MP
Digital Communications and Technology Minister, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and the rest of the ANC cabinet are determined to stop all R350 grant payments in lieu of the Post Office bailout request, leaving the most vulnerable without a single source of income.
It has recently come to light that the Post Office is seeking an additional bailout from the National Treasury (NT), however NT has warned that this bailout would mean that all R350 grants would have to be stopped, due to an overstretched budget.
This application by the Post Office comes after an R8 billion bailout that wasn’t enough to turn the entity around. More concerning is the mismanagement of funds and allegations of fraud recently reported by the DA.
Questions are raised as to Minister Ntshavheni’s motivation behind making this request, knowing well that the Post Office has for years been dysfunctional. The minister has proven yet again that she is unable to put her foot down to the South African Post Office.
It has become clear that privatization is no longer a viable option. The only solution that South Africa can consider, is to liquidate the post office and make way for private companies to do the job that the post office no longer can. Most people only use the South African Post Office to receive their grants, but now that they want to stop these grants, there is no real reason for the government to keep beating this dead horse. Many private companies have already taken over the duties of the post office. License renewals can be made at various shops, and mail is delivered quickly, and on time, by PostNet.
SOEs have for years been ruined by the ANC, and they are unfortunately at a point where they can’t be saved.
The DA calls on Minister Ntshaveni, to stop these useless bailouts to the South African Post Office, and think about the NEARLY 50% of South Africans who rely on these grants to survive.
Issued by Dianne Kohler Barnard, DA Shadow Minister for Communications, 13 September 2022
