BY SHAME MAKOSHORI
ZIMBABWE’s postmaster-general Sifundo Chief Moyo says he has bigger plans for the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU) if he lands the secretary-general (SG)’s role during elections due in Victoria Falls next week.
The Zimpost boss, who was presented to African diplomats in Harare on Tuesday, said his plan would see PAPU dovetailing its programmes with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into force this January.
The Zimbabwean executive came to the scene after southern African governments endorsed him to represent the region during the continental polls.
If he lands the role, he will be the first PAPU secretary-general from southern Africa in the postal body’s four-decade history.
Moyo said during his stewardship of the continental body, he would mobilise and deploy resources to make sure Africa’s postal systems would be at the heart of AfCFTA’s growth.
“The union will reorient its programmes to anchor and support the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the fulfilment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals,” Moyo told African diplomats.
With an estimated 1,2 billion population, the AfCFTA pact created a US$1,3 trillion single Africa market that members hope will scale up intra-Africa trade beyond the current 18% and uplift a range of struggling economies.
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The new bloc projects that by 2034, 90% of tariffs will have been eliminated between member States, giving the continent impetus to build one of the world’s biggest trade blocs based on participating countries.
He said African postal systems will play a bigger role in rebuilding the region’s economies under his watch, especially in the aftermath of the relentless COVID-19 scourge.
He wants to build a seamless African postal system that will transform the region’s small-to-medium scale enterprises to bigger operations.
“(The union will help in) the fulfilment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. I will ensure that PAPU is fine-tuned to be forward looking on innovation, responsive to member States’ needs and operate in an accountable and transparent manner. My renewal and relevance agenda for the transformation of PAPU will be achieved through deep strategic collaboration, astute engagement of stakeholders, intensive resource mobilisation and utilisation, consistent programme implementation and interactive information management exchanges, staff exchange programmes, benchmarking and twinning arrangements. The renewal and relevance agenda for PAPU will re-energise PAPU to lead African posts’ adaptability to new technologies, degitalisation, migration to e-post services and operation of e-commerce platforms, and financial inclusion, for the benefit of citizens, MSMES, corporates and other stakeholders and governments in Africa,” he said.
Moyo has already contributed to the growth of Africa’s postal system.
“For 17 years he has participated in international postal events, forums, meetings and conferences that have crafted the transformation path of the postal industry under the auspices of the Universal Postal Union PAPU and the southern African Postal Operators Association and other international postal bodies,” government said in a note sent to African diplomats.
Moyo, who assumed the postmaster general’s role in October 2016, holds a Masters’ degree in Business Administration from the National University of Science and Technology, a Bachelor of Science Honours Degree in Economics from the University of Zimbabwe and an Advanced Diploma in Transport and Logistics.
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