26 No. 37261 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 24 JANUARY 2014 class, age or geographical location. The overarching goal of the policy framework was to ensure a more accessible, equitable, efficient, and effective postal service. The objective was to balance the provision of basic universal postal services to disadvantaged rural and urban communities, with the delivery of service capable of meeting the needs of a growing South African economy. The fundamental policy principles were equal access to a reliable basic letter service regardless of physical location, at a uniform rate of postage and at an affordable price. The White Paper provided for the achievement of universal service by structuring the market into reserved and unreserved markets, and ensuring that SAPO receives a degree of monopoly protection, as it rolls out universal service obligations in the postal sector. These obligations are included in the licence conditions of SAPO. The licence issued in 2012 (effective from 2008) makes provision for a monopoly in a reserved sector, as well as defining universal service obligations by outlining under-serviced areas in schedule 1 of the licence and then addressing roll-out to meet these obligations in schedule 2 of the licence. All other services, including parcel and express services, and any future services differing from those defined as reserved, are categorised as non-reserved and are subject to competition and market forces. However, obligations. these licensees do not have the any licensing The White Paper envisaged the corporatisation of the Postbank, which would be wholly owned by Government that could encourage a culture of savings among its target clientele. A three-phased restructuring plan was implemented resulting in the Postbank as an autonomous fully-fledged savings bank, owned by the Post Office. In the interim period, Postbank was to operate as a profit centre, and to continue to be exempt from registering as a bank under the Banks Act. To this end, the Postbank Act was promulgated and is intended to provide the financial services as envisaged in the policy. 3.3.2 Growth and outlook According to StatsSA, the value of postal and courier activities in the 2009/10 year was R9,1 billion. In the same period, SAPO reported total revenues of R5,5 billion. Using these revenue figures, SAPO has a total market share of 61% of the total postal and courier services. SAPO was issued with a 25-year licence in 2001 and it is the only licensee operating in the reserved market (defined as delivering any postal items that weigh less than a kilogram). This exclusivity was confirmed in SAPO's amended licence conditions gazetted in 2012. Its monopoly in the reserved areas was confirmed until 2017. In terms of the unreserved market, ICASA has a total of 300 registered courier services. However, the South African yellow pages shows that there are just over 2 000 listings under `courier services' in South Africa. It should be noted, however, that this listing does not provide the reader with an accurate picture in relation to which companies are operational or not. However, given the revenue data supplied by Stats South Africa, the rest of the sector is worth R4,5 billion.The SAPO revenue rose from R1,9 billion in 1994 to R5,9 billion in 2012, a 208% increase. This trend is evident from the figure below. 22 This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za