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Service delivery thermometer - ZimPost
Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association (BPRA)
February 17, 2012

ZimPost has become a white elephant as people shun its services due to inefficiency. At the time of its collapse, the company was marred with corruption. Customers passed complaints of opened letters, stolen or missing goods and delays in delivery of letters and parcels. As the economy recovers from its downturn some companies have made efforts to improve and resume operations, sadly the post service provider is not reflecting much progress.

In recent years companies like Edgars and Topics send account information to clients in the form of text messages. People have also resorted to private companies such as DHL and Swift to send and receive goods and documents. ZimPost also offers the same services. Alternatives to ZimPost are either expensive or accessible only to a few members of the community. ZimPost unlike, most private courier companies, has offices positioned at the resident's convenience. In each constituency there is a post office which offers various services to residents.

In an information age communication is most necessary whether it is done online or via post. Despite technological advancements the importance of postal service cannot be over emphasised. In Zimbabwe in order to register to vote, open a bank account among other things one is required to produce proof of residence. As proof of residence people usually produce documents in the form of bills and letters addressed to them. This therefore means that it is important for one to receive letters as these may come in handy as proof of residence.

In light of this, BPRA urges the Ministry of Transport and Communications to ensure the revitalisation of post services. The post office offers a number of essential services. Below is a list of some of them:

Mail services - Letters, boxes and bags, mail room service

Import and export of goods - All parcels or packages containing goods which have been imported by post are held by postal authorities (ZIMPOST) for examination at places within Zimbabwe at which there are customs houses. The parcels are made available to ZIMRA officers for examination and assessment of any duty due thereon.

Letters - Classified into domestic and international letters, these should be cleared from posting boxes regularly with international letters dispatched by the first available flight.

Business reply service - This is a promotional activity where companies enclose return addressed envelopes into their client's mail with the payment for the postage stamps done by the promoting company after receiving feedback from clients.

Postage Paid In Cash (PPIC) - For corporate bulk mailers who post at least 100 letters per batch. No stamps are fixed but the customer gets a receipt for the postage.

Franking machine - Customers purchase franking units equivalent to the postage paid they want to use and there are no limit for letters to be processed.

Parcels - are categorized as domestic or international. Domestic parcels originate and are delivered within the country. International parcels are foreign parcels that are either ordinary or insured parcels. Insured parcels - the customer will be compensated in damage or loss of the item. Bar coding of items enable track and trace of the route of the parcel using the parcel number.

Registers - are classified as domestic or international. Also bar coding is essential and assist in terms of tracking the registers using a system International Postal System.

Financial services: Electronic mail order, e-Mali, Exchange 4 free, Rand Postal Order, EcoCash, OneWallet
Electronic mail order - With ZimPost one does not have to have a bank account to transfer money. The Electronic Money Order is a secure reliable, convenient and simple way of sending or receiving money countrywide using the network of over 300 post offices. Money is not physically posted to the payee. A simple payment instruction is electronically transmitted to the payee's nearest post office for payment. The payee receives the money transferred real time.

e-Mali - People can now transact using e-Mali card at selected Zimpost offices. Customers can access the following services:

• Cash withdrawals
• Deposits
• Point of Sale (POS) Purchases
• Money transfers
• Bill payments
• Mini Statements (last 5 transactions plus closing balance).

Visit the Bulawayo Progressive Residents Association fact sheet

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