–says they should become ICT hubs

WITH technology revolutionising the way things are done, Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes said it is time the role of post offices expand and these centres also becoming Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hubs.

She issued the charge to a gathering at the Post Office Training Centre on Monday, in commemoration of World Post Day which was celebrated on Sunday.

“Fast growing technology has diminished hand mail,” the minister said.

The advancement of technology over the years has and continues to deeply impact courier services worldwide, thus innovative ways must be derived to keep these services relevant in the modern world.

As such, Minister Hughes sought to outline the plan of her Ministry and noted that Guyana has to move ahead to be up to speed with the developed and developing world.

Guyana must learn, earn and grow at the pace of regional and international countries in order to modernise the way it conducts business, she said, pointing out that constant analysis of the courier service is needed in order to provide necessary services.

The minister also pointed out that the methods of communication have changed and the Internet has become the new normal.

“This year marked a difference, given that we began to put into effect the full measure of changes in the kind and quality of services provided by the Guyana Post Office Corporation,” said the Telecoms Minister.

One of the recent interventions, she said, was a fact-finding mission to China where the aim was to negotiate with the Chinese company which built the fibre- optic cable in Guyana sometime back, to construct a fibre-optic system from Timehri to Lethem.

Currently, the feasibility study is underway, given that they are aiming to fill the existing gaps in the network, so as to provide better services while also maintaining the current network.

Minister Hughes stressed that this is one of the steps in charting a new course which will convert the postal services into new opportunities for both private and public sectors.

However, there must be innovation, integration and inclusion, in order to build such a system, owing to the fact that there are 64 post offices nationwide, thus ICT development will have to be done incrementally.

“We are currently looking for spaces for community ICT hubs so as to ensure free Internet is available… there is no better place than post offices which are strategically placed, hence, many will be refurbished to meet this reality,” iterated the minister, as she outlined that persons must be visiting “Internet ready” post offices.

This, she said, will allow persons, especially from inland areas to access Internet services, so as to release the burden of having to travel far distances in order to access those services.

Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) Chairman, Raphael Massiah said technology has occasioned the need for further staff empowerment in order to sufficiently maximise the noted features of technology. He also noted that the corporation intends to identify and utilise appropriate and relevant training for staff development which will redound to the delivery of innovative services throughout Guyana.

“In short, over the next years, we plan to hone all the available skills of our human capital coupled with the maximum use of ICT to offer an improved service with greater efficiency and reliability,” the GPOC Chairman said.