 Background
to the Rwandan postal system |
The first post office opened its doors on 18th
September 1922 in Kigali. At the time, the Post
Office Administration was linked to that of the
Belgian Congo and the Headquarters was in LEOPOLDVILLE,
capital city of the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic
Republic of the Congo). The situation remained
the same until the period of independence within
our country, which ushered in a Ministry of Information,
Posts and Telecommunications on 26th October 1961.
At the time the Rwandan Post Office was, together
with that of Burundi, considered as one single
entity designated as the "Post of Rwanda-Urundi"
until 31st March 1962 when the said entity was
dissolved by the Brussels Protocol that established
the Rwandan Post Office on 1st April 1962.
As Rwanda prepared to achieve its
Independence, the Cabinet Reshuffle of 18th May
1962 removed the portfolio of Information from
the former Ministry of Information, Posts and
Telecommunications, and the latter became the
Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. The
new Ministry had the following components:
· The Office of the Minister
· The Rwanda-Urundi Agency for Telecommunications
Services
· The Rwanda-Urundi Agency for Aeoronotical
Services
· The Posts Network
When National Independence was declared on 1st
July 1962, the former Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications
was reattached to the Ministry of Public Works
and Mecanisation to form one Ministry designated
as the Ministry of Public Works and Equipment
on 6th February 1963. This Ministry counted, among
its attributions, "the management of the
Postal System".
The cabinet reshuffle of 6th January 1964 detached
certain attributions from the former Ministry
of Public Works and Equipment in order to constitute
the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications which
had, among its attributions, the "Postal
Services".
One should also note that on 6th April 1963 the
Republic of Rwanda was admitted as a member of
the Universal Postal Union. Having understood
the importance of the country's postal service,
the United Nations Organisation quickly gave considerable
assistance by constructing the Kigali Posts and
Telecommunications building that still stands
today, which was inaugurated in 1965.
| The
structure of the current Posts network and
its origine |
As a public establishment, the National Post
Office has been in existence since 11th March
1992, and falls under the responsibility of the
Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communication
(MINITRACO).
It is during the above-mentioned period that
the Government decided on an institutional reform
of the Post Office. Such a decision implied that
the future organisation of the Post Office would
integrate the following general principles within
its structure:
- The exploitation, management and marketing
of the postal monopoly as well as postal services
as a whole such as defined and specified in the
law and regulations in force;
- The exploitation, management and marketing of
postal orders and postal cheques, such as is defined
and specified by the laws and regulations in force,
and at the discretion of the current law;
- The promotion and development of services at
national and international level which derive
from sectors targeting the above-mentioned subjects
and any study or research carried out to this
effect;
- Any mission that the Government judges as useful,
as long as it is judged as capable of fulfilling
it taking into account its technical capacity,
and in the interests of Rwandans;
- The Post Office is authorised to carry out all
operations, depending on commercial or financial
requirements, comprising the normal prolonging
of its mission or having a direct, indirect or
compatible relationship with the Post Office.
|
| Organigram
|
1. Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communication
(MINITRACO).
2. Board of Directors.
3. Management: Research and Computers
4. Legal Affairs
5. Internal Auditing
6. Secretariat
7. Production Department: Marketing and Promotions
Dispatchment and Distributions
Organisation of Perceptions
Silver Articles
Production Unit
National Sorting Center
8. Resource Department: Personnel
Logistics
9. Financial Department: General Accounting
Budget and Treasury
Inspection of Management
This organigram, which has a Board of Directors
at the helm, fulfils pre-determined requirements
thus creating a structure that is adapted to the
functioning and development of a dynamic and modern
enterprise.
The National Post Office is represented in all
the country's provinces by the perception-collecting
offices (15), sub-offices for perception (2),
annexed counters (5) and 21 correspondents.
| Mission
of the National Post Office |
The mission of the National Post Office is to
provide clients with good quality services. It
should be identifiable as an efficient and modern
public postal enterprise.
| Objectives
of the National Post Office |
Similarly to other domains, the postal sector
was not spared by the 1994 War during which the
Rwandan postal system lost over half of its personnel
(senior staff), and experienced the looting and
devastation of all its offices. After the war
it was necessary to first of all rehabilitate
all the components of the postal system. Alongside
with this ongoing rehabilitation, the National
Post Office has fixed the following objectives:
- Extension of the market for postal products
and services
- Improvement of the quality of the service in
order to satisfy clients
- Increase of productivity and profitability
- Adaptation to new information technology
| The
different products and services offered by
the National Post Office |
Traditional Services
- Mail collection, transportation and distribution
destined towards and originating from areas within
the country or abroad, as well as small packages
and parcels
- Transportation and payment of postal orders
in all post offices within the country
- Deposit and payment of postal cheques in all
the post offices of the country
- Instalment of post office boxes in all the post
offices within the country
- Sale of stamp collection articles at all the
country's post offices
New Services
- Public telecopy and telephone services in all
post offices
- Representation of the telecommunication companies
Rwandatel and Rwandacell through the sale of telephone
cards and other telecommunications products at
all post offices
- Minibuses that ensure the daily transportation
of mail, and combine the transportation of passengers
with that of mail in all the country's provinces.
- Foreign exchange bureaus to ensure the purchase
and sale of foreign exchange at the Kacyiru Central
Post Office
- An accelerated EMS Rwanda Express or international
mail service: EMS dispatchments throughout 60
countries. Good standards of mail dispatchment
are guaranteed (a maximum of 72 hours abroad and
overseas, and 24 hours to areas within the country).
Door-to-door deliveries are unfailingly carried
out.
| The
Postal System and New Information and Communications
Technology |
Among the technologies that are applied are the
following:
- Internet/E-mail: Cyber Post at the five Post
Office branches (Kigali, Butare, Cyangugu, Gisenyi,
and Ruhango).
- Utilisation of the computerised system for follow-up
and location of EMS dispatchments with the purpose
of improving the quality of the service offered.
- Exclusive representation of the South African
company "E-SAVE" for electronic transfer
of funds within all the country's provinces.
| Human
Resources Development at the National Post
Office |
Being in the service industry, the National Post
Office is well aware that human resources are
among the pre-requisites for production and investment.
Thus the National Post Office continues to manifest
the growing need for an appropriate training of
its personnel. Hence the implementation of the
following training sessions:
- Training of Inspectors of the postal and financial
departments every year
- Training in the use of computers for office
staff
- Depending on the available resources, the Rwandan
Post Office provides training for senior staff
(post inspectors) and managerial staff (directors)
in Posts operations.
- On an exceptional basis, the National Post Office
is sponsoring some employees to undergo university
education.
| The
National Post Office: Perspectives |
- In a few months' time, postal services shall
be available at all branches of the Banque Populaire
within the country; the following will also be
available:
- Computerisation of all Post offices within the
country;
- Creation of a cyber Post in all post offices
of the country
- Progressive extension of the postal network
- Electronic transfer of funds at an international
level
- Creation of a postal bank that will have branches
in all the post offices within the country
- Granting of loans to clients and payment of
fixed bank deposits
- Extension of the EMS postal service to include
door-to-door deliveries in the town of Kigali
- Mass mailing (mailshot): Dispatchment of publicity
mail, directly effected by the Post office, that
includes brochures, leaflets, catalogues, etc.
|
RWANDA
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