Post Office traffic falls by 12 percent in Uganda

There has been a 12 pct decline in volume of letters posted and received through the post office, the Uganda Communications Commission’s executive director, Patrick Masambu, has said.

Volume of traffic is the number of letters, parcels and registered items that are delivered through the post office during a particular time.

He attributed the decline to competition from the new services like the Internet and mobile phone messaging.

In 2002, nine million letters were posted. In 2003, seven million were posted, while in 2004, they were 8.5 million. In 2005, 6.5 million letters were posted and in 2006, they were 4.8 million.

Masambu, however, said parcels and registered mail increased by 33 pct for the 2006/07 financial year.

“Increased activity in the international market accounts for this development,” he said in a report about the postal and telecommunications sector for the financial year 2006/2007.