According to IOL, the troubled South African Post Office (Sapo) has terminated the employment of over 500 individuals who were implicated in cases of fraud, corruption, and theft over the past three years.
Sapo CEO, Nomkhitha Mona, informed the National Assembly’s portfolio committee on communications that these actions were taken due to the detrimental impact on the post office. Some of the employees have been arrested by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and faced legal charges for their involvement in these crimes.
Sapo and Postbank presented their audited financial statements to the committee, with Mona highlighting that Sapo last recorded a profit back in 2006 and has faced ongoing challenges since then. The post office has been one of the entities receiving bailouts from the National Treasury, which has provided substantial financial support to struggling State-Owned Entities over the past decade.
Mona also noted that Sapo has been collaborating with Postbank in the distribution of social grants but has encountered internal issues with some employees being involved in corrupt activities, theft, and fraud.
“We have taken a number of actions in the past because you find that some of the wrongdoers are also Sapo employees. From 2021 we have dismissed 488 employees. Out of those 203 employees it was related to fraud and theft. In the current financial year under review it is 188 people. Of those that we dismissed, SAPS has made 372 arrests and 62 of those are former Sapo employees. There has been activity around that we remove those that are detrimental to the business, thieves and other people for wrongdoing,” said Mona.
Mona emphasized that they are committed to ensuring that the legal process is followed for individuals engaged in wrongdoing within Sapo.
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