Tension Grips Courier Operators over Postal Bill

The long awaited Postal Bill has got the adrenalin of courier operators flowing because it is now feared that like in the financial sector, the bill entail shoring up the capital base of operators in the sector, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now reveal.
Already, some private courier operators who are not well footed in the industry are jittery over what will become their fate if the Postal Service Commission which will be legitimized by the passage of Postal Bill,  comes up with reforms that may spell doom for mediocre courier  companies.
Based on what happened in the finance sector that the commission may ask courier operators to recapitalize which may entail raising the licensing fee above one million naira while asking those already in business to shore up their capital base.
Courier operators are already complaining of being overwhelmed by developments in the market occasioned principally by the introduction of e-Dividend whereby investors into the stock market have their account credited online circumventing the role of courier companies in the distribution process. Other operators also complain that Bulkpost Venture, a subsidiary of Nipost has cornered the remaining chunk of the business while some are of the opinion that Information and Communications Technology has dealt the final blow on the courier as it has eroded most of their operations.
Pulse measured indicated that the commission may raise the bar on entry standards for courier operators thereby restricting the business only to those who have the brain and cash to float courier business.  Increased monitoring and enforcement of minimum standards are also expected by the commission and this will spell doom for illegal courier operators who are in the habit of dumping mails, cutting corners and tarnishing the image of the industry.
The next phase to be witnessed in the industry may be categorization of operations, acquisition, mergers and outright trade off as courier companies battle to adjust to the new order. Some courier operators who follow the trend in the industry are already getting ready for this development.