Among the state related enterprises or companies christened after our beloved country Ghana, the Ghana Post Company is one that we hear very little of, good or bad.   

Last week however, I chanced on a Daily Graphic issue of July 10, 2013 and glancing through it, the Metro page had a story on Ghana Post in Kumasi of all places.  The story piqued my curiosity.

Kumasi has been on my mind in the last couple of weeks.  Was it a coincidence therefore that the Metro news page that I turned to that day featured a story on the garden city? Perhaps more curiously for me was the fact that it is a company that seems to have gone out of business.  As per the story filed by Kwame Asare Boadu, Ghana Post Company was intending a door- to- door postal delivery services beginning Ashanti this year in the regional capital.

The Daily Graphic story indicated that the move was going to be part of the company’s initiative to expand innovative measures to overcome the threat posed to its existence by technological advancement.  I felt elated for the company having read the story because I thought this was a business that had not gone redundant after all.

Regrettably, I was reading the story two weeks after my recent visit to Kumasi, otherwise I would have followed up on the company’s word, two months after the intended time of implementation.   I bet the Kumasi taxi driver I befriended a fortnight ago would have given me all the running commentary on the services of Ghana Post in general and the door-to-door postal service which was to have started in August this year.  I certainly missed the opportunity.

Much as one would like to commend the Ghana Post Company on the steps they have taken in the face of dwindling business prospects, one would also like to add that a door-to-door delivery of letters and parcels in at least every regional capital in this country has been long overdue.  Of course electronic mails have taken over a chunk of their business but there are some business transactions that we will continue to do with them.  Additionally, parcels for example still need to be sent by post.

Admittedly, Ghana Post has for some years now operated the door-to-door service in some parts of Accra and Tema, particularly in the areas that have the street address system.  A friend who uses their services in Community 18 in Tema was full of praises for a service of that nature in their area. With the talk now about local authorities getting serious with the implementation of street names and proper location address system, no doubt as a starter, door-to-door postal deliveries to every corner of Accra and Tema would be welcome.

For convenience sake, why would anybody want to go through the hassle of driving to a post office with all the nuisance of heavy traffic, if the option of having it right at one’s door step and checking for letters at one’s leisure is available?  There are many people today who simply want to take complexities out of their lives.  Such people would readily pay for their letters and parcels to be delivered at home for a fee.

There are certainly some business opportunities in door-to-door postal services.  It could be a ready income generation venture for the company.  With the sprawling of homes and commercial enterprises in our cities and towns, the supply of the red postal boxes and the yearly fees to be charged for the service alone is huge. 

Then also are the opportunities that could be extended to utility companies.  Currently, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to some extent and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) despatch bills to the homes and offices of their consumers.    Could Ghana Post not do this for the utilities if they had an efficient door-to-door delivery system in place? 

There are other opportunities to be tapped into.  The telecommunication companies who have post paid customers and also the Banks who send quarterly or half year statements to their customers would certainly consider patronising such facilities if only they would stay efficient and reliable.

Perhaps an even bigger opportunity for Ghana Post is with companies that are listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange and who every year send out thousands of Annual Reports and Financial Statements to their shareholders through the post and across the country.  Sometimes the Annual Reports do not reach the shareholders in time for the Annual General Meetings.    Home postal deliveries would minimise such delays.

All these exciting opportunities for Ghana Post also mean job creation for Ghanaians.  From the manufacturing of the post boxes to distribution and installation, to branding and maintenance, the job opportunities are many.  Ghana Post would need the personnel who would move from area to area delivering post.  All these are ready made jobs that would come with the initiative.

The Ghana Post Company should take as serious and pursue with all the vigour, an efficient and quality door-to-door postal deliveries while taking advantage of the viable business opportunities that could come their way, at least with the door-to-door deliveries of post.  Even if they were swimming in cash, opportunities to better their best would be a great strategy. 

Ghana Post could certainly bounce back with a name over and above all postal delivery companies we know of.  It is time for them to move faster than ever before.