12 Oct 2016

Assistant Minister of Land Management, Water and Sanitation Services Mr Itumeleng Moipisi has appealed to government departments and parastatals to use BotswanaPost services to render it profitable.

Speaking during the official opening of Serowe post office, Mr Moipisi said that a profitable BotswanaPost would improve and develop its services and infrastructure countrywide.

The assistant minister commended BotswanaPost management and board for their continued efforts in improving their products, services and infrastructure since they had become a trusted vehicle by which government relays its services to the people.

Whilst urging BotswanaPost and sister services providers Botswana Savings Bank and Couriers and Logistics to spread their wings, Mr Moipisi informed Batswana who gathered to witness the official opening of the post office at central business district that it had always been government’s effort to have such services delivered at one stop shop.

He said that government wanted all services to reach Batswana everywhere regardless of their locality and hence trusted BotswanaPost to deliver on that owing to their reputation.

He said that provision of postal services, banking services and couriering and logistics services was a common trend in many countries.

Though he conceded to having seen some improved post offices, Mr Moipisi revealed that Mahalapye and Serowe post offices were the first to house postal services, savings bank and couriers and logistics under one roof.

Meanwhile, Mr Moipisi who is also a Member of Parliament for Kgalagadi North, informed residents of Serowe that government had spent P40 million on the face lifting of Serowe and Mahalapye post offices, construction of new post offices at Mookane (after one was gutted by fire), Shoshong and Tshesebe.

Subsequently, the assistant minister called on Batswana to use postal services whilst simultaneously taking a good care of them.

For his part, BotswanaPost chief executive officer Mr Cornelius Ramatlhakwane said that they seek to be always ahead of potential competitors, hence the poso card which he lauded as the best.

Despite conceding that the poso card is in possession of all the security features available in automotive teller machine cards like magnetic strip and microchip, Mr Ramatlhakawane argued that their card is also in possession of finger print and face recognition capacities.

Mr Ramatlhakwane said that they gave the post office a facelift as a result of shortage of funds since their initial intention was to demolish the old structure and build a completely new one.

However old the building was, the CEO warned that it was equipped in hitech security.

He admitted that his office was challenged by the poor state of some of their structures countrywide and were working on bringing them to modern looks.

Like the assistant minister, BotswanaPost CEO called on Batswana to utilise their services. ENDS