Botswana: Improve Your Services Or Die – Botswana Post Told
The President of the Botswana Confederation of Commerce, Industry and Manpower (BOCCIM) Igbal Ebrahim, has advised Botswana Post to improve on their customer service or else they will not survive in the competitive market.
Ebrahim was speaking at the official launch of the Blue Jacket Square Business and Communication Centre on-behalf of the Minister of Communication, Science and Technology Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi.
Botswana Post recently opened a similar Business Centre in Ncojane, and two in Gaborone offering traditional postal services such as stamps, money and postal orders, letter and parcel mail in addition to Internet or email, photocopying, printing, scanning, laminating, typing and binding services.
In the speech, which Ebrahim read on behalf of Venson-Moitoi, she noted that in the 1800's Francistown attracted mining companies due to the existence of gold, nickel and other minerals and mining still plays an important role in the city's economy.
Francistown is also a major connecting point to the eastern corridor and remains the business and commercial hub for many satellite villages around its vast catchment area.
She said on the basis of all these, it makes business sense to have a Business and Communications Centre in the second city and Botswana Post, has an important role in the economic and social development of the country.
Venson-Moitoi is quoted saying: "We have and continue to be faced with threats due to competition from other similar service providers. Also technological innovations that enable faster, efficient and cheaper transmission of messages and most importantly, an increasingly sophisticated and demanding customer with ever changing needs and preferences."
Next month Botswana Post will broaden the product range to include tourist artefacts and in the next financial year, they plan to open another centre in Kasane and in other towns around the country.
In his speech, the Finance Director of Botswana Post, Stan Paraffin cautioned that the challenge they have is seeking the required funding for such projects. Paraffin said that whilst the Post is moving towards the achievement of their Pinagare strategic objectives they are still faced with lack of or dilapidated infrastructure, funding and staff training. "We will continue to engage all stakeholders to ensure that at the end of the day our customers get the products and services they expect from us in a manner that guarantees value for money."
Other ongoing developments at Botswana Post include the implementation of a Hybrid Mail Centre in Gaborone that will employ Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to process mail from printing of bills and statements to folding and inserting into envelopes through to sorting and finally the last stage of delivery. This integrated mail processing solution will come into effect in January next year.
Ebrahim however, said this kind of technological advances are necessary and the Botswana Post should keep on adopting such innovations but still maintain a meaningful role to the communities around them. He said: "We must always look at ourselves to see where we can improve. Letters are dying but even though it's a difficult task there is a need to ensure customers use letters."
For his part the former board Chairman of Botswana Post Bernard Letsididi acknowledged that there have been complaints in certain areas regarding opening hours.
He therefore, requested that the Blue Jacket Square Business and Communication Centre should seriously consider answering these calls.
