NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 14 – Major General Mohammed Hussein Ali took office as the new Post Master General on Monday with the assurance that he was ready for the task ahead.
However the immediate former Police Commissioner who held a meeting with his Board, declined to lay bare his strategies for the Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) saying he needed time to settle down.
“We will discuss that at subsequent meetings. This is just the first day here and its not appropriate for me to discuss the details this particular time,” was all he said when asked what his plans for the corporation were.
Major General Ali was appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of the PCK last week to replace disgraced Fred Odhiambo who was sacked after a forensic audit report indicted him for mismanagement.
The implementation of the report saw seven other senior managers sent on compulsory leave.
Information Permanent Secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo under whose docket the corporation falls said they were soon going to implement the audit report in full.
“We are looking at it (report) again; if there were criminal issues that the government ought to follow that will come from the AG’s (Attorney General) office. There are very clear recommendations from that report that we need to implement,” he said adding that this execution would begin as soon as the Board (in which he sits) meets.
The PS said they would also discuss strategies to address the many challenges dogging Posta such as the stiff competition it was facing from the increased usage of internet.
Revenues from mail have dropped by about 80 percent, Mr Ndemo revealed, saying this called for new strategies.
“We are going to focus more on courier services. I think those are areas that involve a lot of logistics. We need to improve in those areas in order to stay afloat,” he said adding that new business areas would have to be developed as well.
PCK’s market share in the courier business is less than seven percent and once it decides to aggressively market its services, it will have to compete with about 100 firms that are currently in the market.
A recent study by the Communications Commission of Kenya revealed that the the postal and courier industry is worth Sh7 billion.
