BRIEF ON THE WORK OF THE EACO WORKING GROUP 4 ON POSTAL SERVICES DEVELOPMENT AND REGULATION By MATSIKO Gonzague – WG4 Representative

Outline  About the Working Group (WG)  Terms of Reference (ToRs)  Key Achievements  Way Forward

About the WG4 Name: Postal Services Development and Regulation Mandate: To handle the postal services development and regulations in the region NameRoleCountry Dr. Enock KinaraChairpersonKenya Mr. James KaferoVice ChairpersonUganda Mrs. Caroline KoechLiaison Manager/ICTEACO Members Representatives from postal operators and regulators from the EAC Member States

WG4 Terms of Reference  To recommend strategies for implementation of the various Universal Postal Union(UPU) Postal Strategies within the EAC region.  To recommend strategies for modernization and transformation of the postal sector in the region.  To recommend strategies for development and harmonization of the National Addressing Systems and Postcodes in the region.  To carry out quality performance tests with designated operators and share results within the EAC Member States.  To recommend strategies for enhancing postal security.

WG4 Terms of Reference ( Cont.)  To make recommendations on how to develop an efficient Mail Transportation Network across the region.  To make recommendations on how EACO Member States can acquire and maintain automated quality of service monitoring equipment and the necessary skills to improve quality of service in the postal sector.  To coordinate and follow up the work of the relevant UPU Committee(s) or Council(s) and facilitate the development of regional recommendations or contributions relating to the work of this Committee(s) or Council(s) or other relevant international and regional organization.

Key Achievements  Four meetings held in 2 year – 2 in Kigali, 1 in Arusha, and 1 in Nairobi.  EACO Working Group 4(WG4) created four(4) working parties(WP) to focus on the different areas in the postal issues: – EACO Postal Payments and E-services – EACO Quality of Service – EACO Postal Security – EACO Courier, Customs and Carriers.  WG 4 has developed an Action plan based on UPU Postal Strategies and the EACO TORs. Implementation of the Action Plan has commenced.  Joint Inspection of Airports and Offices of Exchange for quality of service and security was hosted by Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 whereby regulators and operators from the EAC region were involved.  Quality performance tests have been carried out with designated operators and results shared within EAC Member States.

Key Achievements ( Cont.)  Drafted a template to capture data on the postal statistics and forward to EACO Secretariat for circulation to all member countries,  Postal conference on Leveraging ICTs in the transformation of the Post and Courier in the East African region held in Feb 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya. Recommendations – EACO and EAC to hold regular postal conferences in the EAC region. – EAC Secretariat should regularize the Technical Committee on postal services, ensure participation of all Designated Postal Operators, Regulators and other stakeholders. – EACO and EAC in consultation with partner states should urgently carry out a study on addressing systems and postcodes in the region and define a clear funding mechanism for the project. – The East African region should urgently harmonize its legal and regulatory frameworks to support of the sector across the region. – Governments in EAC should support and appreciate the role and potential of postal services and especially the role of these services in the delivery of government services to the citizens.

Way Forward  Follow-up the implementation of the recommendations and Action Plans of the WG 4 and 4 Working Parties.  Participate in all activities of the WG4 on Postal Service Development and Regulation.

Thank Your Kind Attention.