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Bulawayo Bureau

THE Covid-19 pandemic has severely strained the postal and courier services sector resulting in massive drop in business volumes across all services.

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

The day is celebrated annually to create awareness on the role of the postal sector in the everyday lives of people and businesses, as well as its contribution to global social and economic development.

The minister said Covid-19 has induced a strain on the economy as it has disrupted the business operating environment 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. Over 25 million people have been infected by the pandemic globally and Zimbabwe has not been spared. Lockdown restrictions have minimised physical contact leading to an accelerated use of digital platforms to adapt in order to stay safe.

“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.

Minister of State for Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Larry Mavima, said his province was already benefiting from the community information centres (CICs) that Government has established in some districts as well as ICT learning equipment donated to local schools. “Our people will no longer walk long distances to get ICT services. We promise that the services of this Community Information Centre will be utilized to the maximum. This year alone we have a number of schools that benefited laptops under the eLearning project from Potraz. 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 A. 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.

“We have overcome wars, natural disasters and pestilence. We have always delivered. The year 2020, however, was the year that the postal industry showed the world its resilience, its determination, and the invaluable role it plays in every society. We showed we are more than mail,” he said.