Postbank on Its Way to Becoming South Africa’s State Bank, Leaving SA Worried “Here Comes the Mass Looting”

• The South African Postbank is on a mission to assume the role of the country's only state bank, sparking concern from citizens
• Communications Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni announced that the SOE is gearing up to launch 100 new branches and turn old Post Office branches into fully-fledged banks
• All South Africans see is yet another opportunity for widespread looting by corrupt ANC cadres and their lackeys

JOHANNESBURG - South Africans are a little concerned after Minister of Communications Khumbudzo Ntshavheni announced that Postbank is gearing up to take on the role of South Africa's state bank.

While the state-owned enterprise is making plans to roll out 100 new branches and renovate Post Office infrastructure into an all-inclusive bank, citizens are worried that corrupt officials are preparing for an all-out looting feast.

However, Ntshavheni has assured that the move to make Postbank a state bank has nothing to do with the African National Congresses' push for one over recent years, Business Tech reported.

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In 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa detailed the government's plans to form a state bank, but Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana rubbished the plan, claiming the nation did not have adequate resources to establish one.

Concerns remain about Postbank's fitness amid security breaches and systems glitches

The Postbank is still riddled with problems which include security breaches that have not been resolved and glitches in the Sassa grant payment system.

According to TimesLIVE, the South African Reserve Bank has given the SOE another year to fix its security breaches in order to keep its access to the national payment system.

Sassa grant beneficiaries have also periodically encountered issues in accessing their money because of glitches in Postbank's system.

South Africans aren't pleased with the move to make Postbank a state bank

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Given the issues at the state-owned enterprise, citizens aren't very excited about it becoming a state bank.

Here is what South Africans are saying:

@Mpho_matlala_ commented:

"The sad thing about this is, even before it starts, we know we will have to bail it out due to mismanagement and corruption in the near future."

@WandZFoundation claimed:

"Another vehicle for grand-scale corruption by the government."

@popmotsisi asked:

"So, this is one of the bright ideas from the Yeyensi (sic)?"

@ditsheg38949241 speculated:

"Here comes the mass looting again!"

Reserve Bank gives Postbank another year to fix its security issues, Mzansi is fed up: “Forget fixing it”

In another story, Briefly News reported that the South African Reserve Bank granted Postbank another 12-month extension to fix the security issues that have caused problems with the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) payment cards.

The irregularities in the security measure for Sassa-branded cards were first detected in February 2019 and the Reserve Bank ordered Postbank to plug the holes by March 2021.

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According to Sunday Times, there was a major security breach that exposed the personal data of millions of social-grant recipients which forced Postbank to replace 12 million bank cards at a cost of R1 billion.

Source: Briefly News