Namakhwa who led a Malawi delegation to Pan African Postal Union (Papu) celebrations in Arusha, Tanzania said that there is need for MPC to improve its operations so that it qualifies to be a conduit of ICT services.

Papu was set up as a specialized body of the African Union (AU) responsible for the development of postal services in African countries. The body set up on January 18, 1980 was this year celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Namakhwa explained that since Malawi is part of the global village, there is need for Malawi Postal Corporation (MPC) to turn around its operations from the traditional mail delivery to electronic services (e-services) such as internet and electronic money transfers.

“We want our postal sector to graduate from the mere selling of postage stamps to other e-services, especially in the rural areas where people have no access to ICT services” said Namakhwa.

“While the postal sector plays a key role in national socioeconomic development, MPC needs to diversify its operations to make it compatible with the current ICT services to satisfy the needs of the current generation is as far as the services are concerned,” he added.

The deputy minister explained that according to UN charter, access to ICT is one of the human rights for all citizens in all UN member countries.

“Postal services, therefore, provides a basic means of communication which is accessible and affordable in different parts of the country. UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights also deals with issues related to postal services in articles 12, 19 and 25.

“As such, UN member countries including Malawi are mandated to provide universal postal services, which must be clearly stipulated in their local policies and other legal instruments,” said Namakhwa.

Besides, if ICT services are intensified, especially in the rural areas, they can help in curbing rural-urban migration [in search of employment] since the services would create job opportunities for the learned villagers, according to the deputy minister.

This year’s Papu celebrations took place at Arusha International Conference Centre from January 18 to 22, 2010 under the theme: “The Post, a variable means for bridging the digital divide”.

The meeting, which Tanzanian Vice President Muhamad Shain officially opened, attracted a high level delegation from 43 African countries to share ways of improving postal sector in African countries were discussed, among others.