Zambia Postal Services Corporation (Zampost) is to reposes 100 dormant postal outlets that were closed years ago and leased out to agents.
Zampost Post Master General Paul Simfukwe said yesterday that the move to take over the post offices is aimed at turning them into postal shops that will provide e-communication facilities, money transfer and other banking related services.
He was speaking to ZANIS in an interview after he accompanied ministry of transport and communication permanent secretary Dominic Sichinga touring the Post office building in Chilubi district on Lake Bangweulu.
Mr Simfukwe said Zampost has 220 postal outlets in the country, but the postal corporation was running 120 while 100 were either under lease to agents or had been closed.
He said the postal outlets run by agents have abandoned provision of postal services and were being used for totally different purposes.
He cited one case of a postal outlet in Itimpi area in Ndola were the postal office has been turned into a secretarial service centre and does not provide any postal related services.
Mr Simfukwe said Zampost will now move to repossess the postal services from agents and introduce a line of products that will provide internet services, money transfer, bank related facilities alongside traditional postal services.
He explained that the intention of Zampost is to ensure that Zambia meets the world standards of having a postal office for every 10,000 people.
The Post Master General said currently the country has one post office to a population of 66,000 people, which is far below the world standard and that of Africa which demands that for there must be a post office for every 13,000 population.
He further said that the Post Office on Chilubi Island is a priority to be turned into a fully fledged postal shop that will also be used to handle salaries for civil servants who travel to either Samfya or Kasama for their salaries.
He noted that the plans to repossess the postal offices have been necessitated by new business opportunities that Zampost has identified on the market and can be integrated in post offices, adding that these opportunities are available in most rural areas including Chilubi district.
Mr Simfukwe is optimistic that by the end of next year, Zampost will repossess all post offices and move towards ensuring universal access to post services.
ZANIS
ZANIS, do you mean ‘repossess’? Because ‘repose’ means something else. I stand to be corrected.
This is the way, we need to move with the world. they should franchise these outlets so that i can expand my business.
ZAMPOST you are a shame. Parcels from abroad never arrive at their destination. You lot are thieves!
No #3# I second that. Its true there are a lot of parcels missing from abroad to African countries, especially Zambia. Ubushushi is the prblem, I sent a small parcel to my Relative in Botswana in April last year, up to now it has never been received and you wont believe this! there was a small camera maybe thats why. I was advised everytime something is sent to Africa whether small or big, just register it and keep the receipt, maybe people like those at Zampost wil be brought to books. Let them reposes the postal centers, they will still get the money especially western union. mukomfwako.