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Business News of Sunday, 18 June 2017

Source: 3news.com

Postal service to be revamped to deliver within 2 days – Government

Minister for communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful Minister for communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful

Patrons of the Ghana Post can now receive their letters within 2 days of postage. Those within Accra can even be received within 24 hours. The minister for communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful says the Ghana post will be revamped to keep up with modern technological trends.

In times past, the postal system used to be the main medium of sending and receiving letters and parcels by individuals and organizations. The emergence of information and communication technology has however changed the tide.

The postal service is now viewed as a slow option. This has affected income generation of the Ghana postal service, resulting in the closure of some of its offices such as that of Senya Bereku in the central region.

The low patronage has brought a lot of logistical and financial challenges to the company. But the Minister for Communication, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful insists the Ghana Post is not a liability. “It is an asset which has not been appreciated yet. It is a gem but a gem in the rough.

If it is polished it will shine and be a source of great revenue for the government.” To be able to catch up with e-commerce and modern trends, the ministry of communication is re-strategizing to revamp the Ghana Post.

The minister explains there will be training for personnel to equip them with the new trends. She also hints of a possible redundancy indicating that “age is not a limiting factor in terms of uptake of technology.

I’m sure many of them would be able to adapt. So we’re going to be looking at that. “We’re going to allow those who are tired to go and do other things whiles there’s an infusion of fresh blood, fresh talent and fresh ideas.”

The Executive Chairman for the State Enterprises Commission, Stephen Asamoah Boateng ruled out giving it out for private management despite its challenges. He said “why do you have to give a golden business to someone else. It is not my recommendation to sell it at the moment.

We will see how best government can have some input and leave management without political interference to do their job” Presently, the Ghana Post has put in place new systems to speed up postal delivery across the country.

The managing Director explains letters can now be received within 24 hours indicating that “we are looking to improve our delivery by at least 24 hours from what it is currently.

Region to region The sector minister gave an assurance of speeding up processes on the digital address system to help easy identification in postal services. The ministry has also promised to equip the Ghana Post with data services for electronic transactions.