THE TRINIDAD and Tobago Postal Corporation (TTPost) and the State recently partnered to allow 26 young job trainees a chance to gain experience.
It’s a good move, as there is a need for this entity to be regenerated.
In a media release on September 17, TTPost said its collaboration with the Ministry of Labour highlighted the statutory corporation’s "dedication to adapting and thriving in an increasingly digital and courier-driven environment."
Any move to increase opportunities available to youths to gain work experience must be welcomed. But for TTPost to truly thrive, it must do far more than simply install fresh faces at its counters.
It needs to drastically improve its operations, maintain robust systems of quality control and open its range of services.
Some of these need to occur internally, while much depends on government policy.
For instance, it is unfortunate that a total of 13 corporate retail outlets of the corporation will be completely closed on September 30 – month’s end and the start of a working week – to facilitate annual stocktaking.
Such facilities are normally shut on weekends and officials may have their eye on reducing overtime costs, but why this inconvenience to the public is necessary seems baffling, more so given that the primary business of TTPost is providing services not selling goods.
The local post office might not be as busy as it was decades ago, thanks to the internet age. However, the corporation, established in 1999, still performs relevant and important functions.
TTPost is the designated postal administrator of the country. Its board is appointed by the President. At one stage, it employed at least 988 people across five divisions.
It manages bulk mail, letter postage, Western Union money transfers and local and international courier services. The experience of the covid19 pandemic was a vital reminder that there is still a role to be played by mail and postal systems; at one stage the world relied heavily on mail ballots to conduct elections.
And yet, there has been a perception that the corporation is little more than a drain on the treasury.
This has no doubt been fuelled by operational deficits in the past. In 2018, revenue was $66 million but expenditure was $141 million, in 2019 revenue was $68 million but expenditure was $147 million and in the bumper year of 2020 revenue increased to just $77 million.
Whatever market changes have caused losses, the way the corporation operates today leaves a lot of room for improvement.
At some TTPost outlets, you cannot even make cashless Linx payments. There are frequent complaints about the custody chain of mail. Ambitious reforms like the introduction of postal codes have stalled.
The turn to online business is a highly neglected opportunity for TTPost to play an even greater role in supporting small businesses and start-ups.
Conversely, the Government’s overwhelmed systems for payment of things like property tax, point to another opportunity.
Post offices can be de-centralised hubs at which citi
