Reforming postal system as a ‘communication business’ can help it stay relevant

-Caricom roundtable hears

Stakeholders at a Postal Reform Roundtable Conference said one of the steps that can be taken to overcome the challenges of reforming the postal system is to view it as a communication business.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the two-day meeting held at the Caricom Secretariat, reiterated the need for regional communities to work together towards the reformation. Hinds said when he first took responsibility for the postal sector in Guyana 20 years ago it was steeped in the old British system and its survival was already threatened. However, reforms in the New Zealand Postal System were noted and Guyana initiated some of them.

According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release the prime minister said funds from the post office itself facilitated persons from the New Zealand postal system helping with the reformation; however, this was only partially successful due to the lack of sufficient financing to bring about the amount of change that the system truly needed.

Hinds noted that within the last decade there have been many changes, with the rapid emergence and advancement of the Information and Communication Technology sector. He also said some persons may hold the opinion that the post is no longer important as a conveyor of written and printed document and should be viewed as a delivery service.

However, government has overcome a number of challenges the first time they reformed the postal service itself though issues have been raised about regulations and universal and international obligations. He said while government has paid significant attention to the post in Guyana, and enough funds to ensure that it did not fold, that may not be enough as so far there has been no agreement on a new role and path for reforming the system.

Looking at what is being done in other jurisdictions it must be recognised that each faces its own challenges. Hinds noted that with the universal postal service in Guyana and regarding population densities away from the coastline, transportation links are only now developing. The prime minister said government has been urging the banking sector to venture into small hamlets as this will always be a challenge to the post because until now they have more or less enjoyed the monopoly of cash transfers by pork knockers and small miners, sending money to their families from the interior. He noted that these transactions could result in the postal sector losing some of its better locations and revenue.

According to Hinds, the challenge would be to consider fair rates for postal services and having persons to accept and be ready and willing to pay for it. He called for
consideration to be given to the comparison of the postal system with the telephone system and recognise what could be learnt from that and the changes in the telecommunication sector.

He referred to the 1990s and reduction in telecoms rates, and highlighted that there was a similar reduction in the postal sector. The question now is, “Can we now make persons feel proud to receive something in the mail and be willing to pay for it? We have been discussing those questions and we have not yet found answers in the Guyana situation,”

Meanwhile, Desiree Field-Ridley, of the Department of Trade and Economic Integration at the Caricom Secretariat, in explaining the background of the conference, said it was due to regional member states adjusting to changing times and facing the economic challenges which have called for reform of various sectors, in particular the postal sector around the Region.

She noted that the sector originally enjoyed an output and employment of close to 70% in Caricom countries, and while the internal challenge of the sector was the need for modernisation, the external challenge was facing competition. The roundtable is faced with the task to prepare and implement the strategy for reform.

Speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Postal Union (CPU) John Power urged participants of the roundtable on behalf of the CPU Secretary General to take the matter seriously so that the sector can become stronger to survive changes and to recognise the serious capacity of the problem.

Gerald Power representing the Universal Postal Union (UPU) outlined the challenges to the Caribbean regarding the sector as compared with the global challenges. He urged the postal leaders in the region to embrace changes.