The Cameroon Government, through the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, MINPOSTEL, has endorsed six private operators in the postal service sector.

The Minister,Jean Pierre Biyiti bi Essam, effected the decision by officially handing over legalisation papers to bureaucrats of Express Exchange, Esico, Sao Money,Touristique Express and Messagerieettourisme pour l’Afrique, MTA,recently.

This act by the Government was part of the activities to mark this year’s World Postal Day,celebrated under the theme;“Positioning the post within the context of evolving communication.”

Legalising the functioning of the sector, the Minister urged them to contribute to the effective and people-friendly functioning of the sector,which guarantees better service delivery, loyal and effective competition and protects the consumer.

“I think our postal services have a brilliant future because it has been recently reorganised. We have introduced ICTs into the sector and we think that this modernisation will help the country’s postal services to stand market challenges, especially in global age at the national, sub-regional and international levels,” he said.

The MINPOSTEL boss stated further that the Cameroon Postal Services, CAMPOST, is the lone public operator in the country’s postal sector comprising about 202 private operators. He added that, out of the 202 operators, 107 are engaged in messaging, 85 in money transfer and 10 enterprises both into messaging and money transfer.

Going by the terms of reference, the six operators are charged with scrupulously keeping either the objects or money that will be sent and received through them, ensuring neutrality in service delivery, respecting the secrecy of services delivered and facilitating collaboration with regulatory services, among others.

Meanwhile, the Director of Regulation and Control of Postal Activities in MINPOSTEL, AbakarAbadam, told The Post that the legality attestation signals the end to hitherto freedom that some operators abused.

He remarked that there was need to put all the regulatory instruments in place, examine the infrastructure and services offered by the private operators, before proceeding with authorising the operators to function.

Abadam disclosed that over 50 files of some of the private operators desiring legality are under examination and will be delivered once they live up to expectations.

One of the beneficiaries, Bernard Foweng, CEO of MTA group,acknowledged Government’s gesture to legalise the sector, stating that it will help to tidy the sector that is increasingly attracting investors.

Post offices offer mail-related services such as acceptance of letters and parcels; provision of post office boxes, the sale of postage stamps, packaging and stationery.

In addition, many post offices offer additional services like providing and accepting Government forms such as passport applications. They process Government services and fees such as road tax, banking services, including savings accounts and money orders.