South African Post Office tariffs to increase by 3%

South Africans will pay five cents or three percent more to post a standard letter as from April 1 this year. Communication Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri announced that she had accepted the recommendation from the postal regulator to increase postal tariffs by three percent with effect from April 1 this year. This means that the cost of a standard letter will rise from its present R1,65 to R1,70. Her spokesman Jerry Majatladi said consideration was given to the obligations that the SA Post Office (SAPO) had to provide postal services including providing postal addresses to all South Africans, which continued to be a major challenge. “In keeping up with the principle to make postal services affordable, the regulator believes that limiting the increase to three percent by SAPO will go a long way to accommodate customers’ interests,” he said.