Chairperson, the SA Post Office has not enjoyed a very good reputation over the years. We were faced with untrained and unpleasant staff, broken equipment, staff that did not know how to use equipment in the branches, and high levels of theft of mail, both that coming into South Africa and that leaving South Africa. In fact, levels of service at the Post Office were so bad that South Africans nicknamed post delivered by the Post Office "snail mail".
What we recently saw, however, was somewhat of a 360 degree turnaround with regard to the Post Office. We witnessed an attempt to upgrade branches, train branch employees, restock branches, ensure that safety and security measures were improved to ensure a massive cut in postal theft, and we saw the Post Office operating at a profit. An effective and fully operational Post Office service is one of the most important factors in a successful and growing economy.
We live in a country where universal access to the Internet remains a dream for millions of our people. For most South Africans the Post Office remains the most basic way to communicate. The ultimate dream would be to have Internet stations for public use at all post offices, especially in the more rural areas, where Internet access is almost nil.
It is, of course, very disappointing when an organisation suffers as a result of strike action. Most recently, in the Kempton Park area in Gauteng a strike subjected millions of South Africans to not receiving post for a period of over two months. If the Post Office is not operational, it has the potential to bring smaller communities and their daily activities to a standstill.
You will recall that in my budget speech of this year I applauded the Post Office for an excellent performance, a virtual complete turnaround. The fact that they were operating at a more than acceptable profit was commended. They were a true success story and did the Department of Communications proud.
This Bill provides for, among others, governance of the Post Office to ensure the provision of universal, accessible, reliable and affordable postal service, as well as the provision of a wide range of postal services in the interests of growth and development within the Republic.
While all of what I have just listed is of the utmost importance, the problem - and I may add it's a huge problem - arises as soon as we start dealing with the financial aspects of the Bill. The original Bill that was brought before us for consideration made reference to the following clause: "Granted with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance". By way of example, the original Bill stated that the Memorandum of Incorporation of the Post Office must, inter alia, provide that the Post Office acts with the approval of the Minister, granted with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance, for example, in the merger of the Post Office with other companies, or the entering into of partnerships or joint ventures by the Post Office; the alienation of shares held by the Post Office in any subsidiary thereof so that the Post Office retains 50% or less of the voting shares; and that they shall not issue any shares except as approved by the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance.
Now, if you will, remove every single reference to the Minister of Finance, and that is what we are left with. All these major financial decisions are expected to be made by the Minster of Communications alone. Not only does this place an unfair and unreasonable responsibility on the Minister of Communications but it ensures that we fail in our duty to ensure that all public money is dealt with in a transparent, accountable and responsible manner. All members of government should be experts in their own field. The Minister of Finance should be an expert in finance, and the Minister of Communications should be an expert in the field of communications.
The DA fails to understand why there was an absolute insistence that the Minister of Finance and his concurrence were cut completely from this Bill. It sets a dangerous precedent in which the Minister of Finance would be sidelined in major financial decisions. However, his department will still have to pick up the pieces when bad financial decisions cause the financial collapse of a department.
I would also like to voice my unhappiness with how negotiations regarding this Bill took place. Portfolio committees and, more importantly, portfolio committee members are not in their positions simply to rubber-stamp Bills and push them through. It is well known that in a committee that generally enjoys a cordial relationship, this Bill has been a bone of contention and has seen the DA walking out of a meeting that we believe to have been incorrectly convened and boycotting another meeting for which inadequate notice was given and with regard to which consultation regarding availability was not entered into.
One of our greatest roles as public representatives is to protect the public coffers and to ensure that all government decisions are accountable, responsible and in the best interests of all South Africans. Due to the financial mismanagement that could occur owing to the lack of consultation with our country's financial experts, the DA simply cannot support this Bill. [Applause.]