Postal, courier services revenue jumps 32pc
Postal and courier services providers recorded a 31,7 percent growth in revenue to $454 million for the third quarter to September 30 2021 compared to the previous quarter driven by growth in volumes.
The third quarter performance report released by the regulator, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), says operating costs also grew by 8, 5 percent to $366 million whereas capital expenditure declined by 9, 3 percent to $6,2 million.
“The growth in revenue is attributable to the increase in postal and volumes, whereas the growth in operating costs is attributable to the inflationary economic environment.
Administration costs, line haul costs and transit charges formed the bulk of postal and courier operating costs,” said POTRAZ.
POTRAZ said the postal and telecommunications sector remained intrinsic to the country’s economic growth and has also become an essential enabler for other sectors.
It is also expected to continue enabling other key sectors, as envisioned in Government’s National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), in particular e-commerce, which is seemingly on the rise as evidenced by improving courier volumes.
Said POTRAZ: “There is need for concerted efforts in the consolidation of strategies that deliberately focus on ICT development, executing smart policies and effective processes that embolden investments in ICTs and digital skills, and the development of relevant and attractive applications to enhance the economy’s absorptive capacity of ICTs for the
attainment of a digitally enabled economy.”
Earlier this year, the Minister of Information Communication Technologies, Postal and Courier Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere highlighted the need for governments across the region to continue supporting digitisation of the postal services sector at a time it was critical in the smooth flow of medical supplies in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pandemic came at a time postal services across the globe had been on a decline as the market shifted to more swift services such as mobile telephones and electronic mails as opposed to physical letters.
But during the Covid-19 induced lockdowns, the sector rose to the occasion by ensuring the market was serviced and received their goods within short periods of time. This saw the sector experience a dramatic change with governments declaring it essential services as administrators used the sector in the delivery of Covid-19 medicines and vaccines
among other goods.
“Acknowledging the important role played by men and women in the postal sector value chain who braved the challenges of Covid-19 to deliver important health requirements to institutions and citizens of our countries, governments responded by declaring the postal sector as part of the essential services.
“This allowed the smooth delivery of essential postal services to the citizenry during very trying times. We therefore as governments need to keep supporting the postal sector through its digital transformation phase as its traditional role of last mile delivery of goods is here to stay. Indeed the postal infrastructure can help the government achieve the
digitisation agenda through e-commerce and provision of enhanced postal financial services,” Dr Muswere told a Pan African Postal Union (PAPU) Plenipotentiary Conference held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire delivered earlier this year.-The Herald
