Anoosh Rooplal and Juanita Damons, the enterprise rescue practitioners for the Submit Workplace, have blamed a scheduling battle for lacking an essential Tuesday assembly with MPs.
That they had been anticipated to handle the nationwide council of provinces’ choose committee on financial improvement & commerce, however did not attend.
In response to Rooplal, who spoke on behalf of the pair in response to questions from TechCentral, the assembly had been moved to Tuesday from one other, beforehand agreed date, however the two already had different commitments on the brand new date, prompting them to ship representatives to parliament on their behalf as a substitute.
“The non-attendance by the joint enterprise rescue practitioners was not intentional. Sadly, the assembly date was modified and we had different commitments. We are going to look ahead to the assembly to be rescheduled so we are able to attend,” mentioned Rooplal.
Committee chair Sonja Boshoff defined within the assembly that the rationale it had been moved from the earlier week was in order that both communications minister Solly Malatsi or his deputy, Mondli Gungubele, might be current. Boshoff mentioned Rooplal and Damons solely knowledgeable Malatsi by way of a letter the day earlier than the assembly that they’d not be in attendance and would ship representatives of their place.
“I really feel the enterprise rescue practitioners are actually shirking their obligations,” Boshoff mentioned within the assembly, which Gungubele attended. “They’ve had since 30 November, after they had been meant to current and requested a deferment, [so] they need to have been prepared by now. I’m utterly dissatisfied with their strategy to our request for this assembly right now.”
‘Competent to speak’
Rooplal rebutted solutions that he and Damons had been utilizing proxies to keep away from duty. He mentioned the mix-up was merely a matter of timing and that the representatives they despatched had been “competent to speak” on their behalf.
The Submit Workplace has been in enterprise rescue since July 2023. Final September, Rooplal and Damons informed parliament the organisation would haven’t any different however to be positioned into liquidation ought to a R3.8-billion bailout not be obtained by final November. These funds are but to be allotted.
Learn: Authorities might liberalise postal providers in main assessment
The state-owned firm’s destiny seemed all however sealed when nationwide treasury excluded the proposed bailout from the medium-term funds coverage outlook assertion in October, with finance minister Enoch Godongwana encouraging the division of communications to “discover the cash” to help the entity.
Then, in February, nationwide treasury accepted a R150-million virement supposed to “help the Submit Workplace in addressing speedy monetary pressures”. Khusela Diko, chair of parliament’s portfolio committee on communications & digital applied sciences, criticised the virement as too little to make sure the corporate’s long-term sustainability.
“The funding is simply too little to make a significant impression because it solely sustains the operations of the Submit Workplace for one further month and doesn’t go far sufficient to handle the challenges going through it,” Diko mentioned in an announcement on the time.
In his response to TechCentral on Wednesday, Rooplal mentioned the proposed R3.8-billion bailout stays important to the success of the Submit Workplace’s enterprise rescue.
“No provision was made within the 2025/2026 funds for this funding. The enterprise rescue plan is premised on receiving the R3.8-billion, which was wanted to settle the second tranche of the dividend cost to collectors of 18c within the rand, for infrastructure upgrades and operational necessities,” he mentioned. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
Get breaking information from TechCentral on WhatsApp. Enroll right here.
