Postal body awards local company Zimbabwe courier licence

THE Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ) has awarded a domestic courier licence to Selovile Consultancy, a Harare-based company, as the privatisation of Zimbabwes Posts and Telecommuni-cations Corporation (PTC) gathers momentum. Although no comment could be obtained from POTRAZ this week, it is understood that the regulatory authority has also awarded another domestic courier licence to a company called Megapost. The authority is said to be still scrutinising applications for postal licences from players who would operate in competition with the Zimbabwe Postal Company (ZIMPOST), the postal arm of the recently unbundled PTC. Applicants for domestic courier licences are required to pay US$10,000 for 10-year licences while postal licences cost US$50 000. Edward Kakora, a director of Selovile Consultancy, said the firm was licenced on October 17 and had begun operating from offices in Harares Coventry Road, targeting retailers and other business people who send bulk mail to their clients or creditors. Currently employing 58 workers, Selovile presently covers only Harare and Chitungwiza but has plans to expand to other parts of the country. “We hope to open offices in Mutare and other parts of the country soon,” Kakora said. The awarding of the two courier licences marks the culmination of a process begun in September this year when POTRAZ, formed earlier this year to oversee Zimbabwes telecommunications and postal sector, invited tenders from individuals and companies interested in offering postal and courier services. The move is expected to increase pressure on ZIMPOST, which until now has had a monopoly, to deliver a better service and will provide relief to Zimbabwean businesses, long used to costly delays in sending mail to debtors and creditors. Delivery of bulk mail by domestic couriers will also be cheaper than services provided by international companies, costing as little as a postage stamp, Kakora said. “Our intention is to service businesses that offer credit facilities and we have structured our charges in such a way that the cost of sending mail through us is the same as that of a postage stamp,” he said. Seloviles licence also allows it to provide a messenger service, which involves collecting and delivering messages on behalf of companies and returning with replies. Copyright 2001 The Financial Gazette. Source : World Reporter (Trade Mark)