Postal sector urged to engage ICT graduates

Work opportunities for the thousands of jobless ICT graduates abound in the postal services sector, which risks being rendered irrelevant by the sweeping changes brought by technology and competition from alternative modern media communication platforms.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) Mphoeng Tamasiga told the 14th Annual Meeting of Southern Africa Operators Association (SAPOA) in Gaborone that the postal sector ought to modify its business models to remain relevant in the service of local communities. Further the postal sector must embrace the rapid changes in technology to help the industry become relevant and sustainable. One way to do this, he said, was for the postal sector to exploit the many government support schemes and opportunities available for ICT graduates.

“Some of these opportunities need collaborations with communities who will reap socio-economic benefits,” he said. Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat representative Cecilia Mamelodi-Onyadile said that they recognise that the postal sector touches human lives in various ways and contributes significantly towards the development of SADC economy.

She said that the SADC Postal Sector plays an important role in ensuring access to Universal Postal Services with the modernisation of the post office and the introduction of the e-Post within the region. She commended SAPOA for continuously finding ways of re-inventing the post office to serve citizens.  Mamelodi-Onyadile said that the study on Postal Reforms in SADC, which commenced in January 2014, has resulted in the SADC Model Policy Guidelines on Postal Services, which have since been approved by the SADC Ministers responsible for postal, communications and ICT.