Posta Uganda, courier firms in row over business

Posta Uganda is locked in wrangles with domestic and international courier firms over what they call infringement on their reserved areas of operation.

The General Manager of Posta Uganda, Mr David Kitongo at the launch of their website recently, said that private courier companies are now offering services like letter posting, a service reserved for Posta Uganda under the Communications Act 1997.

He also blamed the industry's regulator, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) for failing to implement the act.

Under the act, Posta Uganda which is the only licensed national postal operator, has exclusive rights to carry out services like production and issuance of postage stamps, production of pre-stamped envelopes, aerogrammes, international reply coupons, rent post office boxes and carry out delivery of letters weighing up to one kilogramme throughout the country. Domestic courier companies are only supposed to carry documents above one kilogramme.

Posta Uganda wants UCC to stop the private courier companies from infringing on their reserved areas.

UCC has, however, declined to do this and says that much as these provisions were included in the license to protect rural population from exploitation and to partially subsidise Posta Uganda to expand their services to rural areas, Posta had since failed to fulfill most of the other obligations.

Mr James Tamale Kafeero, the Technical Officer – Postal said that Posta had for example failed to pay the appropriate license fee, observe confidentiality and protection of postal articles and above all, expanding it's network to rural areas.

"Yes some couriers are encroaching on the services because the major operator has failed to deliver in time, letter are miss sorted, and their visits to these destinations are too irregular, leaving a quality gap that has been filled by other couriers," he said.

He urged Posta to re-arrange their business strategies so as to cover the whole country and fulfill their license obligations as a way of improving on their services and achieving public satisfaction.

"Because customers are ever on the move you cannot ignore the opportunity to extend new products or services. Expanding your business helps you keep ahead of other players in the market," said Tamale.

He added UCC has proposed the lifting of reserve monopoly services and opening up of space for other couriers when Posta's license expires after three years.

He said that unless the minister of Communications signs the proposed revision of letter weight ceilings from one kilogramme to 350 grams, UCC will find it difficult to monitor the reserved postal services especially letters because of the "a thin difference between a letter and a document."

He said UCC is to crack down any courier companies carrying illegal mail through random checks and those found guilty will be suspended, warned or closed depending on the gravity of the case.

However, speaking at the launch of the company's website on January 17, Posta's Managing Director Tom Kiwewa Ssali, said Posta Uganda is the most extensive provider of postal services in the country with a network of delivery outlets at sub county level.

"Mail is delivered to over 70,000 post boxes all over the country and through our 300 post offices, we offer a host of auxiliary services like: Letter, parcel conveyance, and express courier service, local and international money transfers among other services," he said.

Some courier firms Business & Finance spoke to agree with UCC and blamed the said interference on Posta's inefficiency and failure to respond to demand.

Yellow Pages Express Ltd Marketing Executive Ronald Keeya, said the postal business rotates around efficiency and urgency and failure to meet customer expectations can easily push you out of business.

"Delivering a letter to rural areas can take us 48 hours while for some other couriers and Posta, it takes two weeks. Posta is trying but some clients who want their letters and documents delivered to rural areas in so short a time always come to us. So it is not our fault that they choose our services," he said.

Mr Clinton M. Mwanda of Daks Couriers said it is clients who determine their operations by choosing the best alternative.