Struggling Postal Corporation of Kenya has dropped plans to
enter the public service transport sector, citing the venture as a risky
business.
Postmaster-General Dan Kagwe said they had abandoned the transport business and would instead focus on e-commerce and logistics.
The
agency has since last year been piloting a two-bus passenger service,
Posta Liner, between Nairobi and Busia under the funding and guidance of
Universal Postal Union.
The passenger buses expected
to carry letters and parcels in a diversification plan that placed it in
direct competition with a number of established private courier firms
such as Molo Line and Easy Coach.
“We’ll no longer be able to continue with public transport business that we have been piloting since 2016,” said Mr Kagwe.
Courier firms
“It’s an unviable business venture because we will be competing
with well-established courier firms and matatus across the country that
already have an advantage over us.”
Posta sought to
cash in on transport business and grow sales in a market that has lost
interest in sending letters due to the growth of the Internet.
Posta’s
business is being hurt by new technology. The number of unregistered
letters sent between 2003 and 2015 dropped 34 per cent.
Kenyans
have also been less eager to send money orders and inland parcels. The
ailing agency reported a Sh1.5 billion loss in the financial year ended
June.
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