South African Post Office SOC Ltd Act, 2011 (Act No. 22 of 2011)25. Intervention by Minister |
| (1) | The Minister may direct the Post Office to take any action specified by the Minister if the Post Office— |
| (a) | is in financial difficulty or is being mismanaged; |
| (b) | fails to perform its functions effectively or efficiently; |
| (c) | has acted unfairly or in a discriminatory or inequitable way towards a person to whom it owes a duty under this Act or the Postal Services Act; or |
| (d) | has failed to comply with any law or any policy envisaged in this Act. |
| (2) | A directive contemplated in subsection (1) must state— |
| (a) | the reason for issuing the directive; |
| (b) | the steps which must be taken to remedy the situation; and |
| (c) | a reasonable period within which the steps contemplated in paragraph (b) must be taken. |
| (3) | If the Post Office fails to comply with the directive contemplated in subsection (1) within the stated period, the Minister may— |
| (a) | after having given the Post Office a reasonable opportunity to be heard; and |
| (b) | after having afforded the Post Office a hearing on any submissions received, replace the members of the Board in the same manner as the departing members have been appointed or, where circumstances so require, appoint a person as an administrator to take over the relevant function of the Post Office. |
| (4) | If the Minister appoints an administrator in terms of subsection (3)— |
| (a) | the administrator may do anything which the Post Office might otherwise be empowered or required to do by or under this Act, to the exclusion of the Post Office; |
| (b) | the Board may not, while the administrator is responsible for the relevant function, exercise any of its powers or perform any of its duties relating to that function; |
| (c) | an employee or a contractor of the Post Office must comply with a directive given by the administrator. |
| (5) | The Minister must— |
| (a) | review the performance of the Post Office regularly whilst it is under administration; and |
| (b) | within six months of appointing the administrator, table a report on his or her findings in the National Assembly. |
| (6) | Once the Minister is satisfied that the Post Office is able to perform its functions effectively, the Minister must terminate the appointment of the administrator. |
(7)
| (a) | Notwithstanding subsection (3), the Minister may dissolve the Board if the Minister, on good cause shown, loses confidence in the ability of the Board to perform its functions effectively and efficiently. |
| (b) | The Minister may dissolve the Board only— |
| (i) | after having given the Board a reasonable opportunity to be heard; and |
| (ii) | after having afforded the Board a hearing on any submissions received. |
| (c) | If the Minister dissolves the Board, the Minister— |
| (i) | may appoint an administrator to take over the functions of the Board and to do anything which the Board might otherwise be empowered or required to do by or under this Act, subject to such conditions as the Minister may determine; and |
| (ii) | must, as soon as it is feasible but not later than three months after the dissolution of the Board, replace the members of the Board in the same way as the way in which they were appointed. |
(8)
| (a) | The costs associated with the appointment of an administrator shall be for the account of the Post Office. |
| (b) | The appointment of the administrator terminates when the Board members have been replaced in terms of subsection (7)(c)(ii). |
| (9) | Notwithstanding this section, the Minister retains the right at any time to approach a competent court for relief in any matter he or she considers appropriate in furtherance of this Act. |