My international parcel sent over 6 weeks ago has still not left South Africa!

I sold something to a buyer in Taiwan on eBay on 19 July and despatched it via surface mail (as per customer's instructions) on 20 July. I was alarmed to read a letter in this morning's Herald newspaper in which someone in Grahamstown complains of having sent a parcel to Australia on 10 July which has not yet left Durban. I decided to follow up on my own parcel to Taiwan and discovered to my horror that it too has not left the country more than 6 WEEKS AFTER I POSTED IT! The post office official I telephoned apologized and said that mails are held back until the shipping container is full. My message to the Post Office: Your apology is NOT accepted. I will probably have to refund this customer $70 (U.S.) because the parcel will almost certainly not reach him within the time frame I predicted (3 months). This is a loss I really cannot afford to sustain! Earlier I complained on Hellopeter about parcels airmailed to me almost 2 months ago from England that have spent the greater part of that time sitting on some warehouse floor (probably under a mountain of other mail) at O. R. Tambo International Airport. I still haven't seen these parcels. SAPO ought to be transparent about its problems. Customers have a right to know that internationally-accepted delivery times for articles sent between countries (about 2 weeks for airmail; 4 or 5 days for expedited airmail) no longer have any relevance in South Africa.