Dear Comrades,
VICE-President Dr Mohammed Gharib-Bilal has assured that despite facing massive competition from digital platforms of communication, postal services still have room to flourish in both Tanzania and the rest of Africa.
Delivering his keynote address during the official opening of the 32nd Administrative Council Session of the Pan-African Postal Union (PAPU) taking place here, Dr Bilal pointed out that there are many countries on the continent whose well-being has improved, in the past five years with economic projections showing that many African countries will have increased GDPs concluding the UN Millennium Development Goals.
The VP explained that, as people’s lives improve on the continent their consumption of commodities is bound to grow in the process and many will need postal services for good delivering, documents’ transactions and gifts exchanging and even in business.
He, however, advised that postal services must also adapt to the current digital changes and ensure that their services are delivered in-line with modern times and future generations’ requirements.
The Director General of the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), Prof. John Nkoma, stated that the country has already completed the process to formulate postal codes an exercise which is now ready and set to complement the advent of the new “postal services” era.
“At the moment, each ward in the country has been assigned with special code and soon each individual resident of Tanzania will have own personalized address to ease letter and parcels’ delivery as well as easing tracing and identification of residential homes,” he said.
The Post Master General, Mr Deos Mdeme, said in line with establishing postcodes, the country needs to work on connecting infrastructures such as roads, ICT backbones and electricity all of which are vital in ensuring that modern postal services run smoothly.
“We are planning to connect each residential and commercial premises in the country’s coded network, which will eventually replace the current Post Office Box addresses and the individual addresses require proper communication infrastructure,” pointed out Mr Mdeme.
Meanwhile, the Pan African Postal Union Secretariat has already laid down plans to build an ultra-modern headquarters premises at the current PAPU plot in Sekei Ward of Arusha City. Official reports from the Arusha-based PAPU headquarters as released earlier on by its Secretary General, Mr Younouss Djibrine indicate that the proposed building is estimated to cost 7.5 million US dollars upon its completion.
The proposed twelve-storied building is to be located at the Philips Road Junction where the current PAPU offices are based. The proposed building will have office, accommodation, conference and apartment facilities, in which PAPU will be generating income. “We want to have something that will help PAPU be able to raise its own money in order to reduce the burden from the member states,” the report said.
If all goes well, the new building facility will be able to create 1.3million US dollars per year. Tanzania’s government has embraced the idea for the Africa’s post body to smoothly operate in the country.
The PAPU secretary general also called postal operators in Africa to diversify postal services and products as the region encounters the decline in traditional postal traffic. He said PAPU member countries should make sure they go in line with the Doha Postal Strategy and the African continent’s priorities in the current congress cycle (2013- 2016).
“The postal sector cannot ignore the fact that technology and innovations are rapidly transforming consumer and corporate behaviours to the extent that stakeholders expect to see the post taking steps to meet their needs in a proactive and timely manner, to enhance efficiency and remain relevant in the market.”
He noted that development of E-service is a key strategic decision for Africa. The Universal Postal Union, (UPU) has focused on development of the threedimensional network to foster innovation in products that are adapted to customer needs, such as direct mail and postal payment services.
Over 60 per cent of PAPU member countries are at various stages of implementing and heavily investing in automation of points of sale, finance and back office operations as well as putting in place appropriate management information systems to improve efficiency and reduce wastage.
“Several others were hopeful of benefiting from the leapfrog effect of expansion of national broadband infrastructure, particularly in the improvement of electronic money transfer and postal payments services.In a different development, the Vice President, Dr Bilal lauded the recent election of Ambassador Bishar Hussein as Director General of the Universal Postal Union. “Since the establishment of PAPU here in Arusha 33 years ago, Africa has progressively solidified her solidarity on the international arena and Bishar’s appointment is the culmination of this long-standing effort,” he said.
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