The Managing Director of Ghana Post, Mr Bice Osei Kuffour has requested for more cooperation between the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and Ghana Post to enable the company play its role as the designated postal operator in Ghana and fulfil its Universal Service Obligation.
The Managing Director made this request when he and the Director of Posts at the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, Mr Sulley Lugey paid a courtesy call on the Director General of the UPU, Mr Masahiko Metoki at the ongoing Council of Administration Session of the UPU in Berne, Switzerland. At the meeting were Mr Mutua, Director of Development and Cooperation and Mr. Akio Miyaji, Senior Special Adviser to the Director General of the UPU.
Mr Bice Osei Kuffour congratulated the Director General for his election to the high position of the UPU which is the Specialised Agency of the United Nations in postal matters.
He used the opportunity to request for support from the UPU to enable Ghana Post roll out more digital services and establish a robust domestic and cross-border e-Commerce service in Ghana.
In his remarks, the Director General welcomed the Managing Director to the Postal fraternity and congratulated him on his appointment to lead an important state organisation which has a huge global influence. He also recalled with much appreciation the huge support that the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Mrs Ursula Owusu Ekuful and the entire Government of Ghana offered Japan for his candidacy during the Abidjan Congress where he was elected.
The Director General also congratulated Ghana Post for winning several UPU awards over the years and encouraged the Managing Director and the entire staff of Ghana Post to sustain this feat.
In response to the Managing Director’s request for support from the UPU in respect of capacity building for staff of Ghana Post, Mr Metoki assured him Ghana Post will surely benefit from an e-commerce project for Africa which will be launched in Abuja, Nigeria in November 2022. This project seeks to strengthen the postal regulations in e-commerce space, sensitise governments on the need to empower the designated Postal Operators to enable them to offer several services in the e-commerce value chain and enhance the digital inclusion initiatives of the Post in Africa.
The Director General again assured the Managing Director that his request for Ghana Post to benchmark best practices with some sister postal administrations will receive the needed attention.
In a similar development, the Managing Director seized the opportunity to have further engagement with the delegation from the United States of America. The discussions focused on the security of mail exchanges between the two countries, which has suffered some challenges of late. Similarly, the Managing Director has also engaged the Secretary General of the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU), Chief Shifondu Moyo as well as several private mail operators who are also participating in this Conference.
Ghana is an elected member of the Council of Administration of the UPU, which is responsible for ensuring the smooth operations of the Union in between Congresses.