By Annette Ferguson MP- I am eternally grateful to have been given the opportunity to commence my working life at the Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC), on completion of my Secondary Education, several years ago. At that time, the Corporation had at its helm Postmaster General, Mr. Edward Noble, supported by Personnel Manager, Mr. Stanton Halley and several other great men and women who served the Corporation with distinction.
The Guyana Post Office Corporation is an autonomous body, managed by the Postmaster General, with oversight by a Board of Directors. Unfortunately, no Board of Directors has been appointed since the PPP/C returned to office in 2020.
GPOC provides service to the ten regions of Guyana, from no less than sixty buildings, and generates revenue from the services they offer and the rental of office space, to both individuals and organisations, public and private. The Corporation does not enjoy a subvention/ budgetary allocation like GuySuCo.
The service provided to many communities by GPOC is hampered by the poor state of some of the buildings. I will focus mainly on the Essequibo Coast and Bourda Post Office today.
The Danielstown post office was demolished and is causing great inconvenience to the older residents. Has the rebuilding of this post office been budgeted for in 2024?
The Aurora post office is in a dilapidated state and is in urgent need of repairs, while Suddie, Queenstown, Anna Regina and Charity are in fair condition.
Hopefully when these buildings are being rebuilt the Corporation would maintain the 2-storey design and not resort to one flat building as has been done elsewhere.
The Bourda Post Office, in the heart of the city, which was rehabilitated between 2003-2004, appears to have been excluded from the Corporation’s maintenance budget.
One would have thought that with the PPP/C’s huge budget allocation for building projects, agencies such as the GPOC would have been included so as to facilitate the delivery of critical services to our communities.
I am therefore making a public appeal to the government for urgent consideration to be given to rebuilding/rehabilitating/maintaining, where necessary, post office buildings across Guyana.
I am also requesting that the Office of the Prime Minister facilitate the appointment of a Board of Directors to support the growth and development of the Post Office Corporation, ending the four-year hiatus.
The urgent release of the audited reports for the GPOC for 2020 to 2023 will also provide clarity on the financial performance of this critical agency.
