Confusion over Postal Bill, Stakeholders Bicker

National Postal Policy and Nigeria Postal Service Bill, a set of all important documents touted as transformative for the postal industry is still embroiled in web of claims and counter charges seven years after stakeholders began moves to rejig the industry, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now reveal.

In the absence of a fresh set of laws, the industry is loosely regulated with Nigeria Postal Service (Nipost) playing both the roles of a regulator and a player.

The industry is also plagued by myriad of problems ranging from activities of quacks; loss of mails; poor public perception; dearth of infrastructure; high operating costs; and operational inefficiency; among others.

Stakeholders believe that creating a workable regulatory paradigm that will provide efficient, transparent and accountable system of control for the postal market should be uppermost.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered following agitations to reform sector since 2004, the federal government engaged Nethpost Consultancy of Netherlands to conduct feasibility analysis and provide restructuring options for Nipost and the postal sector.

The draft policy was brought out in 2005 but spanners are at still works on this all important policy, seven years after.

Interestingly, one of the key recommendations of the consultants is the establishment of an independent regulatory body for the postal sector as against the present practice where the Consumer Regulatory Department (CRD), an organ of the Nipost, a player in the industry is calling the shots as regulator in the sector.

Courier operators are anxious to see that the postal bill is ratified to allow the Postal Service Commission, an independent body that will regulate the postal and courier industry come on stream.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek however gathered that intrigues and administrative bottleneck have conspired to setback in passage of the bill.

From the National Assembly to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to the ministry of Communications Technology, supervising ministry and the stakeholders, there are different accounts of the state of the bill.

While the national assembly claimed it is harmonizing the bill, the BPE said the postal policy and new postal legislation are near completion.

Elsewhere, supervising ministry then still under information and communications claimed it is still taking inputs from stakeholders but operators seem confused on the actual state of the document.

Dr. Simon Emeje, senior assistant postmaster general and head, Courier Regulatory Department (CRD) however said that Nipost was not averse to a giant and independent regulator.

Emeje, who spoke on the sideline of the bill at a recent two-day courier business session organized by CRD for stakeholders in the industry, said plans are on towards establishment of a regulatory body for the postal sector.

“As a regulatory department, we need the cooperation of everybody-the operators, the registrars, and the government that we represent. Of course, the industry needs such a regulatory agency and NIPOST has been in the vanguard, however, biased statements and unfruitful gestures exhibited by some operators have led to the cold feet witnessed in the process,” he said.

Emeje added that with a robust regulating agency, the sector will pursue a strategy of aggressive growth and efficiency, diversification, and internationalization, and possibly turn the country into Africa's preeminent postal and communications haven.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that the objectives of the postal reform include: to grant the postal sector sufficient autonomy to run its own affairs; guarantee all segments of the population access to universal service; and provision of quality services which support the Universal Service Obligation (USO).

Other are separate between operators, regulator and policy makers; ensure an open, liberalised market with equal opportunity for all competitors; guarantee economic viability of the public postal operator and ensure that the population has access to services according to the technological evolution of the postal service; and as well as achieve quality standards similar to best international practice.