Basseterre, St. Kitts, October 10, 2016 (SKNIS): The St. Kitts and Nevis Postal Service joined the rest of world on Sunday, October 09, to observe World Post Day 2016, under the theme: “Innovation, Integration and Inclusion”. In commemoration of the day, officials at the General Post Office rolled out a list of activities aimed at sensitizing the general public on the workings of the institution.
Activities include customer appreciation day on Monday, October 10; staff appreciation day on Tuesday, October 11; a health day on Wednesday, October 12; as well as donations to the St. Christopher Children’s Home and distribution of food hampers to older person in various communities on Thursday, October 13. Students from various primary schools are also scheduled to visit the post office from Tuesday, October 11 to Thursday, October 13. Other activities are planned for the staff on Friday and Saturday.
World Post Day is celebrated each year on October 09, the date of the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in 1874 in the Swiss Capital, Bern. October 09 was declared World Post Day by the UPU Congress held in Tokyo, Japan in 1969. Since then, countries across the world participate annually in the celebrations. Approximately 150 countries take part in celebrating the World Post Day every year. Some of the countries promote their new postal services at this special day.
The Honourable Ian Patches Liburd, Minister of Posts, spoke to the day and the establishment of the Universal Postal Union as it relates to participating member states.
“With its 192 member countries, the UPU is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sectors. As an organization, it plays an advisory, mediating and liaison role, as well as providing technical support to all of its members,” said Minister Liburd. The UPU is this year celebrating 142 years since its establishment, under the theme “Serving a New Society, Delivering Beyond your doorstep”.
Minister Liburd noted that UPU’s theme for its 142 years of celebration “points to the urgent need and paramount importance for the postal service to look beyond its traditional and core services in order to grow its business”.
“The St. Kitts and Nevis Postal Service, therefore, has the opportunity to expand beyond its traditional core services and seek to take advantage by embracing new technologies due to the development of rapid Information and Communication Technologies (ICT’s) and the rapid expansion of e-commerce, as customer expectations, needs and tastes are changing,” said the Minister of Posts. “Postal services around the world are diversifying their products and services to better meet customers’ needs for reliability, speed and security. As e-commerce grows, the St. Kitts and Nevis Postal Service has been positioning itself as the delivery service of choice for goods ordered online.”
Minister Liburd noted that the St. Kitts and Nevis’ Postal Service is on the right track to improving its standards and delivery, as he reflected on the introduction of the US Mailbox service “GPO Pack”, noting that it is an indication of the local postal service positive reaction to the increase in goods ordered online and consequently its customers’ needs.
