Government through the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MINPOSTEL) has legalised the functioning of six private operators in the postal service sector.

MINPOSTEL boss, Jean Pierre Biyiti bi Essam, handed the legalization papers to officials of Messagerie et tourisme pour l’Afrique (MTA), Express Exchange, Esico, Touristique Express and Sao Money on October 9, 2014 as part of commemorative activities for this year’s World Postal Day on the theme, “Positioning the post within the context of evolving communication.”

Speaking during the ceremony, Minister Jean Pierre Biyiti bi Essam disclosed that the country’s postal sector has one public operator, Cameroon Postal Services (CAMPOST), and about 202 private operators with 107 engaged in messaging, 85 in money transfer and 10 enterprises both into messaging and money transfer.

According to the minister, legalizing the functioning of the sector will contribute to the effective and people-friendly functioning of the sector with guaranteed better service delivery and loyal and effective competition that will protect the consumer. “I think our postal services have a brilliant future because it has been 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.

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.

The Director of Regulation and Control of Postal Activities in MINPOSTEL, Abakar Abadam, told Cameroon Tribune that the legality attestation signals the end to hitherto freedom that some operator abused.

He noted that there was the need to put all the regulatory instruments in place, examine the infrastructure and services offered by the private operators before proceeding with authorizing the functioning of operators.

Mr Abakar 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 expectation.

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