Dear Editor,

Thank you for requesting the Postmaster General’s comments to the issue(s) raised in a letter sent by D Howells captioned ‘Why does mail to and from Guyana take so long to arrive?’ (SN 21.2.09).

While we regret delays, there are issues that fall outside of our control.

All outgoing mail is processed and despatched to its destination by the first available flight to that destination or transit point. As your readers would know, gone are the days when we had airlines such as Pan Am, BOAC, Avianca, ALM, KLM, BWIA, SLM and others coming to Guyana. We are now dependent on the two or three airlines which operate into and out of Guyana, and which can, and do agree, to take our mail.

We also do not have GAC as our national mail carrier any longer.

Further, there are no direct flights to the United Kingdom; therefore, mail has to be sent via Barbados or Trinidad for onward transmission.

Incoming mail is similarly treated. However, we have observed recently that mail from the United Kingdom is being routed through Jamaica (there are no direct flights to and from Jamaica causing other routing problems).

We have notified Royal Mail of our observations and the delays which are being experienced, and they have promised to investigate the reason(s) and take possible corrective action.

The rising costs for aviation fuel have caused some airlines to reduce the number of flights and the size of aircraft coming to the region, therefore mail has to compete with passenger baggage for the limited space that is available.

These factors contribute to the delays and the reduction in the quality of service provided. However, the Guyana Post Office Corporation remains committed to the speedy processing of mail once it arrives in our administration.

We are also actively seeking assistance in speeding up mail at transit hubs now open to us in an effort to get the mail into our administration’s control earlier.

Yours faithfully,
Yolaskee Jervis
Public Relations Officer
for Mayglen Adams
Postmaster General
Guyana Post Office Corporation