The government is keen on revitalizing the Postal Corporation of Kenya to enable the agency perform its mandate effectively in the competitive market.
Information, Communications and The Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo said the Ministry is determined to make the giant corporation that was established in the 1800s, take up its rightful place as a strategic State agency in the emerging competitive technological and business market place.
Speaking during a familiarization visit to the Corporation headquarters in Nairobi, Owalo noted that the corporation has for a long time basked in the glory of State protection and invincibility, even when the signs of change and danger began coming from outside, yet nothing was done to keep it competitive.
“Having not read the signs, or having read the signs but not adjusted in a timely manner, the corporation is clearly in the grip of stiff competition from the private sector,” he said.
The CS said the corporation has often missed the opportunity to harness the benefits of the ongoing fourth industrial revolution and to leverage on the same for growth and wider relevance, as a critical player in the communication sector and in the wider national economy.
He said even though Posta has tended to succumb to the challenges posed by accelerated migration of the country and the world to digital communication platforms, it has to contend with high costs of infrastructure and provide universal postal services to the country.
The CS said his Ministry will deploy five pillars which include, the policy and regulatory environment, the corporation’s financial management, internal organization and governance, product and services and the technology and innovation to transform the corporation.
He however, noted that interventions to be undertaken will be in part short- term, mid- term and long- term.
Owalo cited reviewing financial management, solvency and debt portfolio and the best way to manage cumulative liabilities that stand at Sh3 billion and exploring alternative avenues out of conflictual issues under contestation before the courts as some of the interventions the Ministry will undertake.
Other areas of interventions are the reviewing of internal organization and governance and adjust them to match international standards, review of the range of services the corporation provides and the competitive and regulatory environments, reviewing of the use of technology and making essential adjustment for sustainable relevance.
“We will also review the skills needs and skills mix and their sustainable relevance for growth in the prevailing and future marketplaces, as well as review the assets base and its wider relevance now and in the future,” Owalo stated.
The Kenya Postal Corporation was established as part of the then East African Ocean Mail Company in the year 1800-1875.
By Bernadette Khaduli
