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Mukudzei Chingwere in Victoria Falls
Zimbabwe has urged fellow African countries to embrace comprehensive digitalisation to give operations of postal services relevance even under Covid-19.

Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Dr Jenfan Muswere made the remarks in Victoria Falls when he officially opened the Pan-African Postal Union (PAPU) administrative council.

He said the Covid-19 pandemic put pressure on international postal supply chains to unprecedented levels.

“Cross-border exchanges, for example, decreased by 21 percent between 23 January 2020 and 14 May 2020, compared to the same period the previous year,” said Dr Muswere.

“As supply chains have been strongly disrupted worldwide, the weakest links of the postal network have been exposed and that should be taken as a blessing in disguise.

“This, therefore, calls for us, especially the working committees, the Administrative Council included, to put our heads together and come up with lasting solutions so that the Post continues to be relevant even after the pandemic.”

Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) director-general Dr Gift Machengete said designated operators working together with respective governments should put more effort on revolutionising the whole postal sector.

“The umbrella body is always working with us to ensure that the Post remains relevant,” he said. “Our sister country, Ivory Coast, is tipped to become the e-commerce hub for West Africa through the “ecom@africa” project being funded by Universal Postal Union (UPU).

“It is up to us to initiate such developmental projects in our countries and the UPU will never leave us alone when we meet challenges along the way,” said Dr Machengete.