In terms of South African law, the Post Office is the only entity that is legally allowed to accept reserved mail, and as such, it operates a monopoly.

[3] It employs over 16,480[4] people and operates more than 1,400[4] postal outlets throughout the country and therefore has a presence in almost every single town and city in South Africa.

Portuguese ships regularly stopped at Mossel Bay to take on fresh water, and three months later, the letter was found and delivered to Portugal.

Sailors travelling to or from the Orient past the south coast of Africa, placed letters under postal stones, hoping that they would be found and delivered by other ships.

In 1806, Sir David Baird ruled that Khoi, enslaved indigenous people of the Cape, would be used to convey letters and small packages.

In December 1911, the first air mail delivery took place with a seven-and-a-half minute flight from Kenilworth in Cape Town to Muizenberg.

The mail was carried in the same model of aircraft as that used two years earlier by Louis Bleriot to cross the English Channel.

SAPO currently operates under a 25-year license granted by the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and as such must provide a universal service to all the citizens of the country.

The South African Post Office has, for a number of years, been suffering increasing financial losses due to mismanagement, corruption, and competition from the private sector.

On 12 April 2023 it was provisionally liquidated, putting the jobs of 16,400+ employees at risk and creating problems for its clients, especially in the rural areas.