Govt mulls drone deliveries, mobile addresses for post offices

GOVERNMENT is exploring the possibility of introducing mobile addresses and using drones for courier deliveries among other electronic substitutes for the country’s post offices in line with global trends.

In the face of Covid-19 induced challenges and the growing demand for efficient and cost-effective services, the innovative measures are expected to eliminate the need to physically travel to a postal facility.

Globally, the postal sector is moving away from focusing on offering traditional mail business, which was predominantly letters, and is now focusing more on e–commerce, agency and financial services to enhance financial inclusion, through provision of e–solutions, which are cost sensitive and widely accessible.

Dr Jenfan Muswere, the Minister of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services, said this on Friday as he delivered his speech to commemorate the World Post Day and commissioning of the Gokwe Community Information Centre in the Midlands province.

“I urge the post office to consider drone deliveries as these will eliminate risks associated with physical contact between postal staff and customers,” said the minister.

“As the ministry responsible for ICTs, I implore the postal and courier sector to explore and establish e-substitution solutions in line with global trends. I believe that modernisation of the sector will help us alleviate and overcome the effects of the pandemic.”

He said the Covid-19 pandemic has severely strained the postal and courier services sector locally and abroad, resulting in a massive drop in business volumes across all services. This has induced a strain on the wider economy as the operating environment has been disrupted due to a variety of societal restrictions put in place as part of the measures imposed to reduce the spread and risk of exposure to the deadly virus.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has negatively affected the postal and courier sector as evinced by the massive drop in volumes across all service categories,” said Dr Muswere.

“International courier volumes, which are key in generating income, declined significantly. There were also challenges in the delivery of items owing to the lockdown measures in different destinations.”

According to the Universal Postal Union, cross-border exchanges worldwide have dropped by 21 percent for all international mail classes.

Despite the setback, the minister said the sector has remained resilient, being able to offer their usual services albeit observing the social distancing measures.

Over 25 million people have been infected by the pandemic globally and Zimbabwe has not been spared. While lockdown restrictions have minimised physical contact, this has led to an accelerated use of digital platforms.

It is for this reason that the Government, through the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), has been establishing community information centre (CICs) and expanding base station network to digitally connect communities.

To date 146 CICs have been established across the country with over 11 000 people being trained on basic computer skills.

An efficient and affordable ICT infrastructure and services allow countries to participate in the digital economy and to increase their overall economic well-being, competitiveness, digital inclusion, poverty reduction and improved health.

Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Larry Mavima, said his province was already benefitting from the CICs that Government has established in some districts as well as ICT learning equipment donated to local schools.

“This is indeed a gesture that we will forever cherish,” he said.

In his message for the day, the director general of the Universal Postal Union, Mr Bishar Hussein, said the World Post Day was a fitting occasion to pay tribute to member countries, postal operators, postal workers and everyone else involved in delivering the mail.-chronicec.zw