STAATSKOERANT, 24 JANUARIE 2014 No. 37261 Total Group Revenue (R'000) 7000000000 6000000000 5000000000 4000000000 3000000000 2000000000 1000000000 Source: South African Post Office The Postal Services Act (Act 124 of 1998) mandates the South African Post Office (SAPO) to provide postal services on an exclusive basis to all South Africans. According to SAPO's Annual Report the branch network extends to 2 433 access points. These access points are made up of 1 590 fully-fledged branches as well as 843 retail postal agencies. The post offices are used to distribute goods, provide financial services and provide access points to a range of government services. SAPO's Annual Report indicates that its customer base stands at 33,7 million adults in the country. Of the total post office network (including branch network and points of presence), 1 763 access points are located in rural areas, with the balance of 670 in urban areas. It must be noted however, that postal services are provided mainly through agencies in rural areas. The other mandate of SAPO is to roll-out national addresses to South Africans. In the past five years, SAPO has provided addresses to over 10 million households. More than 70% of these addresses are in rural and peri-urban areas. SAPO has more than 4 million postal boxes, and about half of these are currently in use by individuals and businesses. Of the postal boxes currently in use, about 773 000 are first addresses for private and individual/residential use. The balance is for business use. About 43 000 individual business addresses are in use. According to the Banking Association of South Africa, 22,5 million people (67%) of adults in South Africa access banking services. The Postbank is a savings institution that operates as a division of SAPO. It provides banking facilities to people who have previously had limited access to financial services. Currently, the Postbank operates only as a savings bank. It has 6 million customers, or roughly 2,6% of total market share. The Banking Association of South Africa indicates that there are 17 registered banks in South Africa, of which the four major banks represent 84% of total banking assets. This makes for a highly concentrated industry. The Postbank has total assets under management within SAPO of R10 billion. 23 This gazette is also available free online at www.gpwonline.co.za 27