Govt working to diversify Ghana Post’s operations – Minister

The government is working assiduously to diversify the operations of Ghana Post to enhance the development of the country, the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has said.

She said the changing needs of customers required Ghana Post to enhance the satisfaction postal services users.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful stated this in a speech read on her behalf by the Director of Post at the Ministry of Communications, SulleyLugey, at a programme organised by the Ghana Post in Accra on Monday, to mark the World Post Day 2022.

The programme which was marked by tree planting, breast cancer screening and walk through the precincts of Ghana Post, was on the theme “Post for Planet.”

She said as a member of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), Ghana Post was working to achieve the mission of the UPU of stimulating development through efficient and accessible postal services in order to facilitate communication between the inhabitants of the world.

To this end, she said, the government was working to guaranteeing the free circulation of postal items over a single postal territory composed of interconnected networks.

“We are also encouraging the adoption of fair common standards and the use of technology and ensure cooperation and interaction among stakeholders, and effective technical cooperation,” she said.

The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation indicated that although the international postal supply chain had proved resilient, per the UPU Postal Development Report for 2021, volumes of overall mail tonnage dropped by 20 per cent in 2020 and further dipped by 10 per cent in 2021.

She said the theme for this year’s World Post Day was very important as the world moved to combat climate change and was in line with the government’s Green Ghana agenda.

“Fighting climate change, forest degradation and illegal mining are the collective responsibility for all humans and being green is a commitment to a sustainable lifestyle that requires real plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path,” the minister said.

She commended Ghana Post for the Post Forest initiative to plant four acres of tree seedlings to develop into forest in each of the 16 regions of the country and appealed to all stakeholders including the National and Regional House of Chiefs to support the initiative.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful commended the management and staff of Ghana Post for the innovative solutions that had helped the company to pull through the COVID-19 pandemic to face new and evolving challenges.

The Deputy Managing Director, KwakuTebiAmponsah in a statement read for the Managing Director, BiceOseiKuffuor for the Director General of UPU, Masahiko Metoki, said there was the need to fight climate change to help the postal sector to thrive.

He said the sector employed more than five million people in more than 600,000 offices in 192 countries.

“As a global player in the delivery of goods and essential services, posts are in a prime position to lead the way for their partners across the entire global supply chain.  They can be a front runner to improve climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience within other sectors,” he said.

The Board Chairman of Ghana Post, George Afedzi Hayford, said the theme of this year’s programme was carefully chosen to bring to the fore the need to conserve natural resources and protect the ecosystem.

Ghana Post, he said, was taking planting of tree seedlings seriously to protect the environment.

BY KINGSLEY ASARE