• A task force on postal reforms recommended the restructuring of PCK to enable it to focus on key business lines and staff rationalisation.
• The ICT ministry has bid for Posta to be appointed the preferred clearing and forwarding agent and logistics service provider for state entities.
Image: FILE
The government plans to reserve services of mails weighing up to 350 grammes and letterbox services to the Postal Corporation of Kenya.
The ICT ministry says that this will be a way to make Posta post profits, citing the infiltration of unlicensed players in the market, mainly the transport industry.
Should the proposal be executed, a number of courier service providers and transporters will have to deal with only cargo above 350g.
The Joe Mucheru-led ministry, in response to a petition by Posta workers, said this will go a long way to turnaround PCK fortunes and pay dividends to the Exchequer.
It thus seeks that proof of letterbox address ownership is made a compulsory requirement during the registration of companies.
The ICT ministry also bid for Posta to be appointed the preferred clearing and forwarding agent and logistics service provider for state entities.
The ministry further seeks that the corporation be appointed as its preferred mails and courier delivery institution.
It also wants the payment of orphans and vulnerable children and older persons' stipend be done through the post office as was the case before and in line with the National ICT Policy 2020.
The ministry also seeks approval for Posta to be incorporated in the Kenya Transport and Logistics Network which brings together Kenya Ports Authority; Kenya Railways; and Kenya Pipeline Company.
Members of Parliament have backed the suggestions and asked the ICT ministry to initiate a process to resolve the financial crisis at Posta Kenya.
The corporation has accumulated losses of up to Sh5.9 billion as of June – pending bills in unremitted staff deductions, trade suppliers and ministries.
MPs observed that the situation means the corporation is insolvent and thus cannot meet its obligations when they fall due.
“They should come up with a sustainable manner of funding Posta operations,” the Labour Committee chaired by Limuru MP Peter Mwathi recommended in a report after a review of the petition.
MPs also asked the ministry to ensure that concrete efforts are made to ensure that the corporation pays its staff salaries on time.
The committee further asked the ministry to implement the 2017 task force report on revitalisation of the corporation.
The report recommended the restructuring of PCK to enable it to focus on key business lines and staff rationalisation.
They asked the ministry “to initiate measures including tech upgrades to compete effectively and innovatively in order to adequately meet its financial obligations in a timely manner.”
MPs said the high returns posted in 2017-18 when Posta transported poll materials for the IEBC was proof that the corporation can be profitable if allowed to provide logistical services to the government.
(edited by o. owino)