The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) and Posta Uganda Ltd have signed a memorandum of understanding which will enable business entities that need postal addresses to get them at URSB offices.
Read MorePOSTA Uganda has announced it is going to extend its services to be able to reach the majority of households in Uganda.
Read MorePosta Uganda, the country’s traditional postal service provider, is sliding out of business after taking damaging knocks from new sophisticated players amid severe under funding from the government.
“Posta needs re-capitalization to become profitable,” the former Posta Uganda Board Chairperson Aisha Lubega said last week.
Her statement underlined the deep seated precarious situation under which the company is operating. Almost ten years after its formation, the company has failed to break even despite initial government promises to subsidies it with a Shs1 billion annually. It only posted profits in 2004/05 of Shs 400 million according to company reports shown to Business Power.
Mr Kitongo said Posta Uganda has received only Shs150 million from the ministry of Works since 2002. Today, the company fails to deliver on some of its most core business for lack of financing.
It delivers mail at no profit, it is burdened by outstanding statutory obligations and is deeply indebted to the tune of Shs 4.3 billion as assessed tax liability and more than Shs 2.3 billion for contributions to the National Social Security Fund and staff contributory schemes, according to the company’s ministerial policy statement for 2007/08 presented in June.
1 British Pound (GBP) = 3,342.38 Uganda Shilling (UGX)
Read MorePosta 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.
At least 250 jobs will be lost as government moves to restructure Posta Uganda in order to improve its competitiveness. Formerly Uganda Posts Limited, one of the successor companies of Uganda Posts and Telecommunications Corporation Limited, Posta Uganda will have its regional offices reduced from 12 to just four in the restructuring process that started in February.
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