The cost of sending mails through Postal Corporation of Kenya (Posta) will increase as of January 2021 following approval by Communication Authority of Kenya (CA).
This move is aimed at assisting the cash-strapped corporation with the latter indicating it had received the green light to move ahead with the implementation of the higher postage costs which are set to cushion it from a greater cost of doing business.
The pricing review is part of Posta Kenya’s review of operations as it stares at potential insolvency occasioned largely by cash-flow disruptions emanating from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Besides the pandemic however, the operations of Posta Kenya have continued to near redundancy as Kenyans opt for modern means of communicating along with private courier services.
The gazettement of the new postage prices are set to be gazetted in mid-December to reflect the changes in pricing which affects the cost of sending letters, post cards, parcels and newspapers both domestically and internationally.
“The new tariffs are in line with ever-changing market dynamics and cost of business operations,” the corporation stated in a notice in the local dailies.
According to draft postage rates published in August this year, the cost of sending a letter weighing between 500 grams and one kilogram is expected to increase to Shs 235 from Sh 140.
Meanwhile, the cost of sending a postcard is expected to rise to Sh 40 from the current Sh.25.
According to a report by CA June 2020, the number of letters posted locally recorded a 58.2 per cent decline to 3.5 million from 8.5 million in the quarter to March. This compared to over 23 million letters posted in the first three months of 2011.
Earlier in September, Treasury approved a Sh810 million bail out allowing the Corporation to clear staff salary arrears which had accumulated since March this year.
Postal Corporation of Kenya has seen a sharp decline in income as Kenyans switch to modern means of communicating and courier services.
By Alice Gworo
