THE need for a technologically advanced postage system was on Monday highlighted as regional and international representatives gathered at the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) for the second round of the Operational Readiness for E-Commerce Workshop.
Minister of Public Telecommunications, Catherine Hughes, underscored the importance of having a postal system that matches the technological advances taking place worldwide. In this vein, Minister Hughes called for a transformation of the existing business model, changing the way postal services are delivered locally. “The foundation of this transformation …is E-Commerce. This alone will determine our survival rate, given today’s seemingly insurmountable costs,” she opined.

This transformation, the Public Telecommunications Minister said, can be achieved if the change is embraced, plans put in place and staff and citizens re-educated to accommodate the change. The Minister reminded those gathered that they represent the key postal organisations within the Caribbean region; therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their respective countries transition to this “new and dynamic age.”

“And most importantly, we must be able when we talk about development and transformation in our countries, we must be able to learn, embrace and to ensure we can take our countries forward,” the minister added. Deputy Commissioner General, Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Hema Khan said the Authority is taking the necessary steps to ensure an efficient service, with the launching of the electronic Single Administrative Document (SAD) slated for August, as another step in this direction.

According to Khan, this will be executed as a pilot project, followed by the individual implementation of each module later in the year. “I find this workshop comes at an opportune time to ensure we get our requirements right for the implementation of the EDS interface,” she posited. The workshop will last five days and includes representatives of the World Customs Organisation, Universal Postal Union and the Caribbean Postal Union, among others. (DPI)