Reform necessary

The postal service has to be restructured.

So says the newly appointed Postmaster General, Margaret Ashby, who explained that the postal service in general is at a critical juncture in its existence, losing market share to the private sector, and as such, reform is needed.

She made the comments while delivering welcome remarks at the opening ceremony of the recently held 3rd Council of Ministers of Postal Affairs Conference, which was held at the Accra Beach Hotel and Spa.

“It is now trying to survive in a market where the most lucrative areas of the Post have been taken over by private couriers… but the Post is still responsible for supplying the universal service obligations to our countries.

“Before the Post would have earned those valuable resources in order to supply the postal services in our region; today that is no longer,” Ashby said.

As such, she stated that there is a call for reform in the postal services across the world, but warned that the Caribbean region must ensure that such reform takes the region’s interests into consideration.

Adding to Ashby’s comments, Allan Smith, Secretary General of the Caribbean Postal Union (CPU), contending that the CPU is committed to the reform of the postal service, suggested that the CPU is uniquely poised to help the postal services in this region and across the world advance, reenergise, renovate, reform, invigorate, as well as become more sustainable and profitable. With that in mind, he called on ministers responsible for the postal service to continue to support their postmasters general and staff.

“The postmasters general and the postal family in the Caribbean have access to a repository of knowledge, information and experience that we think is unparallel in other businesses, in any other Government departments [and] other disciplines.

“We know that we can do this; we know that we understand what has to be done; we know what is required to cause our Posts to be more profitable, to be sustainable, to serve our communities and make our countries better,” he stated. (JRT)