MATTHEW HIRSCH
Sea Point residents were surprised and angry to learn that their post office will close at the end of the month.
Residents said it would be a huge inconvenience to many elderly and poor residents who will now have to fetch their post from the V&A Waterfront.
Marco van Embden, of the Sea Point Fresnaye and Bantry Bay Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association (SFB), said it was a very poor move on the part of the SA Post Office.
“We understand they are in crisis, but they service thousands of people of all economic levels who live and work in Sea Point and who rely on the postal service.”
Another Sea Point resident, Graham Sonnenberg, agreed that the closure would inconvenience a lot of people.
“A birthday present sent by registered mail by a friend of mine in Australia took almost five months to get to Cape Town last year, so it’s hardly surprising that people like me hardly ever use the post office anymore.
“The fact that there will not be a single post office between Sea Point and Roggebaai (there used to be four ) will place great hardship on the poor and the elderly who rely on their services, and I find that totally unacceptable.”
James Stark, who also lives in Sea Point, echoed this sentiment, saying:“There will be a lot of elderly residents in the area that will have difficulty in getting to the Waterfront just to get their post.”
Last week, the SA Post Office sent out a statement saying: “The South African Post Office would like to inform customers that the Sea Point post office will close its doors permanently on Saturday July 23 2016.”
The notice further stated that from Monday July 25, registered mail, insured and ordinary parcels addressed for delivery to Sea Point postboxes would be available at the Roggebaai Mail Collection Point; foreign parcels, CODs, ordinary parcels and Securemail addressed for delivery to Sea Point postboxes will be forwarded to the Waterfront post office; and that employees affected by the closure will be relocated to other branches.
Responding to Atlantic Sun’s enquiry about the closure, post office spokeswoman Martie Gilchrist said: “The office is closing because we have been asked to move.
“The office opened in the early 1990s. The staff will miss their customers.”
