Post Office resumes services
The renewal of motor vehicle licenses is earmarked to resume on 1 June 2020.
POST OFFICES have implemented full services permitted under level 4 regulations rom Monday, 25 May.
According to a statement from the South African Post Office, mail has started to flow as sorting facilities, transport and post office branches have been granted permission to operate.The majority of Post Office branches are open for business and a phased approach is being adopted for the reopening of the remaining branches as soon as measures to ensure their compliance with the regulations have been implented.
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“We envisage that all our branches will be fully operational by 1 June 2020,” said Ivumile Nongogo, SAPO Acting CEO. SAPO has deployed a systemised restricted hours’ shift system in the sorting centres in order to comply with the regulations restricting the number of employees allowed on the premises at any one time to observe social distancing requirements. While the shifts have been introduced to maximise production as well as adherence to the regulations, operations are not currently running at optimal level and this will impact delivery turnaround times of parcels, including items that accumulated prior to the lockdown.
“Indications are that we should deliver the accumulated items that were held up during lockdown within the next three weeks. We appeal to our customers for their patience as we are navigating these unchartered times,” he said.
Customers are able to check the status of their items using the Post Office’s tracking service (https://www.postoffice.co.za/Tools/tracktrace.html). Customers’ contact points that were previously suspended during level 5 lockdown, including the Customer Service Desk (0860 111 502), will resume. Services available in Post Office branches nationwide include account payment, collection and delivery of parcels, posting of parcels, and certifying documents.
As cargo flights to and from other countries are still scarce, SAPO is able to move mail and parcels to and from Hong Kong, Japan, Portugal, Thailand and China. SAPO courier services as well as the delivery of legal documents via DOCEX are also available. Financial services, including money transfer and Postbank transactions such as deposits, withdrawals, card replacements and general enquiries can be performed.
The renewal of motor vehicle licenses is earmarked to resume on 1 June 2020. Services related to SASSA social grants payments, statements and balance enquiries, including PIN and card replacement are also available. To reduce costs burdens for SASSA beneficiaries and to eliminate unnecessary social contact, SAPO has also introduced a USSD service to allow SASSA beneficiaries to check their account balance remotely from their cell phones. To perform this transaction at a cost of R0,60c, social grants beneficiaries can: Dial *120*3210# and press enter. Then, put in your ID number and press enter again to see the account balance.
SAPO is also piloting a project to roll-out cashless ATMs as additional transacting points of access for communities that normally would require to travel to access financial services. The beneficiaries will be able to access the ATMs from selected small traders located in their communities. Local traders, including spaza shops, which are interested in offering this service should send an email to cashless@postoffice.co.za.
