Zimbabwe Authority Scouts for Private Postal Services
THE Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) is scouting for Zimbabwean companies and individuals interested in offering postal services to rival the state-run Zimbabwe Postal Company (ZIMPOST), it was learnt this week.
POTRAZ, formed earlier this year to oversee Zimbabwe’s telecoms and postal sector, last week invited tenders from local firms and individuals willing to apply for a postal licence.
The move is expected to increase pressure on ZIMPOST, formerly the postal arm of the Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (PTC), to deliver better service after the end of its monopoly of moving mail within and outside Zimbabwe.
No comment was available from POTRAZ this week about the requirements for securing a postal licence, but industry sources said the regulatory body was asking for a licence fee of about US$5 million as well as an unspecified annual levy on sales.
“This will provide the successful applicant with a 25-year licence, which will be subject to renewal,” one source told the Financial Gazette.
“This means that even individuals can now operate a post office in Zimbabwe as long as they are able to raise the fees that are required.”
But the sources said the high fees as well as a severe shortage of foreign currency in Zimbabwe would discourage several would-be applicants from applying for the licence.
“This is particularly so given the size of the market, which makes the whole venture unattractive,” another source said.
According to industry executives, postal volumes in Zimbabwe are very low, with about eight million pieces of mail being delivered every month.
They said such volumes would make the break-even period for a new postal company longer and thus not worthwhile for individuals and other players without adequate resources.
However, POTRAZ is understood to be in the process of setting up a fund into which all successful applicants would contribute.
Resources from the proposed universal service fund would be used to provide infrastructure in rural areas as well as compensate those players who opt to offer postal services in remote areas.
The search for companies and individuals to rival ZIMPOST follows the unbundling of the Posts and Telecommunications Corporation, which has had a monopoly over Zimbabwe’s postal services and fixed line telephone system for decades.
The PTC is also the only provider of an Internet backbone, which is often plagued by technical difficulties that have adversely affected Internet service providers and their subscribers.
The unbundling of the PTC is expected to boost efficiency and competition, which could ultimately improve service delivery and benefit consumers.
by Staff Reporter
Copyright Financial Gazette. Distributed by All Africa Global Media(AllAfrica.com)
KEYWORD: Zimbabwe
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