Ross Sheil, Staff Reporter
SIX YEARS in the making, Government hopes to soon present legislation to turn Jamaica's postal service into a statutory body to enable its modernisation.
Kern Spencer, Minister of State in the Ministry of Information, Technology, Energy and Commerce (MITEC), says the move would give Jamaica Post the necessary independence to revive its fortunes, having lost almost $100 million last year.
Mr. Spencer, who has been entrusted with responsibility for Jamaica Post since he was moved from the Ministry of National Security in the new Cabinet, said the draft legislation should be presented in Parliament over the next three months.
"There are a whole range of issues that we are considering to make it more relevant to today's needs but we are restricted by legislation," he said.
MODEL POST
Mr. Spencer recently returned from a meeting of the Caribbean Postal Union (CPU) in Trinidad, where the privatised Trinidad and Tobago Post was held up as a model of best practice for the region.
"By making it a statutory body, it would show that Government is serious about the business of rationalisation and making it more profitable," said recently-retired Postmaster General Blossom O'Meally-Nelson who acknowledged that status would have given her more independence during her five-year tenure.
Since 2000, Jamaica Post has been complemented by the Postal Corporation, a wholly Government-owned private company which was formed as a fillip to modernisation. Through Post Corp., post offices are able to host other private sector companies such as Paymaster. However legislation still limits Jamaica Post from more involved joint ventures, such as establishing a courier business.
What is a statutory body?
A statutory body is a board set up by statute for a particular purpose and operating within the laws that created it.
Since it remains Government-owned, Government can cancel its statutory status.
The body is autonomous and manages its own finances.
