Sifundo Chief Moyo outlines solid vision as he vies for PAPU Secretary-General post

Mr. Sifundo Chief Moyo has outlined a solid vision in his bid to become the Secretary-General of the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU) by pledging to steer the continental organisation in the right direction in line with the attainment of Vision 2030.

He made the remarks ahead of the Ordinary Session of the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU) Plenipotentiary Conference and the 39th Ordinary Session of the Administrative Council to be held in Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe that will run from 21 June to 25 June 2021.

“Given an opportunity to lead PAPU, I will prioritize shaping PAPU to become a transformation Champion for the repositioning, renewal, and reinventing of the massive postal institutions to efficiently connect the African citizens to the local, regional and global markets, seamlessly. PAPU will support its members to transform and adopt technologies that enhance the fulfillment of trade facilitation, e-commerce, financial inclusion, e-government services, and much more.

“I will guide PAPU in supporting key areas like Africa’s trade corridors, MSMEs growth, and International Financial Remittances. The Union will re-orient its programmes to anchor and support the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA), and the fulfillment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I will ensure that PAPU is fine-tuned to be forward-looking on innovation, responsive to Member States’ needs, operate in an accountable and transparent manner, and promote the rich African cultural, religious and linguistic diversity of its employees and Members,” Mr Moyo said.

Mr. Moyo’s Renewal and Relevance Agenda for the transformation of PAPU will be achieved through deep strategic collaboration, astute engagement of Stakeholders, intensive resource mobilisation and utilisation, consistent program implementation, and interactive information management exchanges, Staff exchange programs, benchmarking and twinning arrangements.

He said the Renewal and Relevance agenda for PAPU will re-energize PAPU to lead the African Posts’ adaptability to new technologies, digitalization, migration to E-Post services and operation of E-Commerce platforms, and Financial Inclusion, for the benefit of citizens, MSMEs, corporates, other stakeholders and Governments in Africa.

The business guru said the global onslaught of the COVID-19 Pandemic needs to be fought relentlessly from all ends, and the Posts have a role to play to mitigate its effects.

“I will ensure that PAPU leads the way in helping the Postal Players in Africa to adapt to the ‘New Normal’ of providing services virtually and remotely through digital and electronic platforms. I will pursue partnerships that support the capacitation of Postal entities to fully implement Disaster Risk Management principles and practices to enable the provision of essential services during this COVID-19 pandemic period and at any other crisis era. No postal territory in Africa will be left behind, our strength lies in our unity of purpose and commitment to remain an essential services sector!!!”

Dr. Jenfan Muswere, the Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services said he was pleased that Mr. Moyo has the SADC Ministers’ endorsement.

“We are confident that the other Regions will see value in his candidature and elect him for the position of PAPU Secretary-General. This would further strengthen the Unity and African Solidarity within the Union as this will be the first time in PAPU’s 41 year history that the leadership of the Postal Union will be held by the Southern Region.

“This is consistent with the African Union decisions on the need to observe the principle of rotation by all AU organs and institutions. For the record, the elective positions of Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary have been held by all the four AU regions except the South. This is the opportune time for the Southern Region to assume the leadership role and carry the torch for Africa as the postal industry pursues opportunities during this era of technological advancements,” Minister Muswere said.

ABOUT THE CANDIDATE: WHO IS SIFUNDO CHIEF MOYO?

Mr. Sifundo Chief Moyo is an experienced Pan African Postal Diplomat, Leader, and Strategist whose expertise and passion for postal services is firmly grounded in his strong academic background and is built on deep postal technical training and extensive international industry experience. Mr. Moyo has been contributing to the postal sector’s growth and development for over 25 years. For 17 years he has participated in international postal events, forums, meetings, and conferences that have crafted the transformation path of the postal industry under the auspices of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), Pan-African Postal Union (PAPU), and the Southern African Postal Operators Association (SAPOA) and other International Postal Bodies.

Mr. Moyo is an International Speaker on Postal Transformation and Strategy and recently participated as a panelist at the WSIS Forum co-organised by UPU, UNCTAD, and ITC: Posts support for E-commerce and SME during COVID times on 6th May 2021. He has worked on UPU Postal Reform Consultancy Missions in Malawi (2007) and Ethiopia (2011). In the year 2012, he was invited as a Resource Expert on Terminal Dues for the Asia Pacic Postal Union (APPU) in Singapore, and he has featured prominently as a Panelist and Speaker at SADC Ministers for ICT and Posts Conferences, PAPU-organised UPU Strategy Round Table Meetings, Africa CEO Forums, and SAPOA Postal Forums.

During the PAPU 40th Anniversary Celebrations, Mr. Moyo received, on behalf of Zimpost and the Country, the PAPU Honorary Award ‘On Outstanding Contribution to Postal Development as a Quality of Service Champion’.

He has excelled in leading the transformation of Zimpost towards becoming a digitalized postal entity. During this COVID-19 era, under his leadership Zimpost delivered essential services to citizens on ‘Stay-home’ calls, commenced the production of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) masks and issued the ‘COVID-19 AWARENESS STAMP’ to complement Government efforts in fighting the spread of the pandemic. Through his leadership acumen during this COVID-19 crisis period, Zimpost deservedly got an Award for ‘Best Postal and Telecomms Company for Innovative Solutions in Response to COVID-19 Global Pandemic’ at the Zimbabwe Agricultural Society Show in October 2020.