'Draconian' new law hits smaller couriers

'Only the largest will survive' Leonard Neill COURIER COMPANIES in the small to medium sized sector are now an endangered species following recent legislation which gives the South African Post Office full rights to the handling of all packages weighing up to 1kg, says Peter Baker, spokesman for the SA Express Parcel Association. Fees which will become payable by private companies if the regulations become law will put the majority of them out of business. Only the largest will survive, he says. The regulations were announced last week, but the Postal Regulator's division has given the industry an opportunity to voice its feelings at a road show in which each of the provinces will be visited by government officials during the next fortnight. The regulations call for all courier companies to register and obtain a licence to operate. Cost of registration and licence is R25 000 per company. A further R550 000 a year is payable in advance for the next three years. Representatives of the industry were in Polokwane and Nelspruit at the beginning of this week to attend the first gatherings in the road show, which then proceeds to Kimberley, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, King William's Town, East London, Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Cape Town before the final meeting in Pretoria on October 29. ÒI am alarmed by some of the provisions of the legislation,Ó says Baker. ÒThe registration application form calls for disclosure of detailed company information which no company in their right mind would reveal. ÒThe R25 000 application fee is unaffordable for the vast majority of courier operators. The additional fees called for will have the effect of driving all but the largest courier companies out of business. ÒThere is also likely to be very little future investment in the business from potential new operators. We will be attending these road show workshops in full force to voice our disapproval.Ó According to Mikie Kutta, acting chief director of the Postal Regulator, the aim of the workshops is to get input from as many stakeholders as possible. The rules are designed to get a clearer picture of how many companies are operating in the market while ensuring that the SA Post Office's monopoly over items of less than 1kg is protected, she said. Once passed into law, the regulations will prohibit courier companies from operating any form of service without a licence. Kutta said that that the findings of the road show gatherings would be made public once they had been reviewed by the authorities.