UPU working on leaving no one behind: Minister Muswere

The Chairman of the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU) Plenipotentiary Conference and Honourable Minister of Information Communication Technologies, Postal and Courier Services, Zimbabwe, Dr. Jenfan Muswere on the occasion of the 27^th Universal Postal Union (UPU) Congress held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire in a speech delivered on 26 August 2021 hailed the institution for working on inclusivity to ensure no one is left behind in the postal sector.

Dr Muswere thanked the conference host, Cote d’Ivoire for the excellent organisation of the Congress and the hospitality extended to delegates in the beautiful city of Abidjan. He conveyed his appreciation to the Director-General of the Universal Postal Union, Ambassador Hussein and his team at the International Bureau for smooth coordination of the Congress under very difficult circumstances.

“Chairman and dear delegates to this 27^th Congress, I am encouraged by the spirit of inclusiveness and consensus that characterised the debates and most of the decisions taken by the Congress. The Congress’s decision to allow remote participation and establishment of a Quality of Service Fund (QSF) for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are just but many of the decisions taken by Congress which demonstrated the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals underlying principle of ensuring that no one is left behind. I am confident that together we can make the Abidjan Postal Strategy and Business Plan a success and ensure that the Post continues to play a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of our countries.

“Chairman, during the Ministerial Strategy Conference, Ministers took note of the important role played by the postal sector during the lockdowns necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of delivering prescriptions, drugs, blood samples, vaccines and foodstuffs. Acknowledging the important role played by men and women in the postal sector value chain who braved the challenges of COVID-19 to deliver important health requirements to institutions and citizens of our countries, governments responded by declaring the postal sector as part of the essential services. This allowed the smooth delivery of essential postal services to the citizenry during very trying times. We therefore as governments need to keep supporting the postal sector through its digital transformation phase as its traditional role of last-mile delivery of goods is here to stay. Indeed the postal infrastructure can help the government achieve the digitilisation agenda through e-commerce and the provision of enhanced postal financial services,” the ICT minister said.

He called for continued coordination and cooperation in setting out appropriate policies, standards and rules for the successful digital transformation of the postal sector.

“It is our hope that we will all expedite implementation of the recommendations of the Abidjan cycle in order to stimulate growth in the parcel and financial services and monitor the quality of service for customers globally. While this 27^th Congress deferred the matter of mandatory tracking of domestic goods and documents to the 28^th Congress, it is important for the Member States to put necessary measures to start tracking in order to ensure that at the next Congress we put in place rules that will align with customer needs and demands.

In conclusion, Mr Chairperson, allow me to congratulate the new leadership of the Union in the person of Mr Masahiko Metoki of Japan who was elected to the position of the Director-General and Mr Marjan Osvald of Slovenia for the position of Deputy Director-General. The Pan African Postal Union (PAPU) and Zimbabwe pledge full support to the work of the Union and wish the new leadership success in their new assignments.”