GPO needs to go back to the basics

Feb 25, 2018 Letters

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Dear Editor;

I recognized a name from long ago as I read the letter about the GPOC and Old Age Pensions
Like Mr Seeram, I too am a pensioner.  But I lay claim to three other historical relevant facts. I worked as a paying clerk, I worked as a Union practitioner setting IR policies: and as Head of, separately, Personnel and Operations of GPOC. Totally, I spent thirty five years in the Post Office, including in mail and enquiry areas and ten years in senior management up to performing as PMG.
Some time ago, when a person communicated that I was “harassing” some management operatives of GPOC, I got the message and decided to “stay in me corner”!  But my friends know that my stomach is no bank book and I will speak out.
The Post Office has core responsibilities. They should concentrate firstly on being the best in receipt and delivery of mail. Then they should be the best in providing agency services at best cost.
Payment of Old Age is a part of those Agency Services the GPOC undertook to provide for other Government Agencies. This is nothing new. When I was a postman and a Clerk we delivered all the Broadcast to Schools bulletins, all the GIS publications, all the OHMS mail, sent all the press telegrams, sold the GAC tickets, collected the GBC radio licence fees, transferred the GTC payments, paid the court witness  bastardy payments, sold the NIS stamps, etc.  etc.  etc. A lot of these were not paid for and some not at economic cost. We even provided space to agencies like GTC and GRA at no or peppercorn rental (Some of these decisions came through Guystac or the Political Directorate). Separately, I may write about the need for Central Government to now provide a social cost subsidy to GPOC.
When the Post Office benefitted from windfall of their (foreign) imbalance claims, we were recognized as a large net foreign exchange earner and places like GAC, and Crown Agents were focused as benefitting nationally! Some people saw the different funds in separate GPOC accounts as not necessary and made all into one general spending spree fund which now is backfiring!!
When the Doris team worked tirelessly to get the Political Directorate to hand back the Post Office Savings Bank to the GPOC no decision maker listened.  So who hands money now to those village Post Offices? I bet one month’s OAP that the letter writer does not do as I do? …and what of agencies like the Police, what do they do with the moneys collected at outlying stations? (There was a time when the GPOC gave cash to the sub-Treasury.) Ever since I worked there, my utility bills were paid at GPO. Nowadays I do not draw local pensions but hand it with my utility bills to my village Post Office. How many pensioners treat their village PO in the same way?
In fact I proposed a plan to the GPOC management to develop a scheme for all staff to pay their utility bills and top up at their Post Office!! Do they do that?
And then we look at another issue. Given that money has to be sent to the village PO to pay us, and we don’t pay our bills there, just imagine how many times it takes to process and count remittances and payments from BOG to Pensioner!!  Is there not a shorter format that someone other than GPOC should pay for? (And I would not comment on counting $19500, instead of $20000.)
Which brings me to another  point. A blogger complained that at a Post Office in the flood the Postmaster should have fixed the bridge problem. I wish for village people like Chairmen Dainty or Evans, or people like the Khans.. or Deoroop Mahraj.. or Mr Marks or the dozens of those who saw the PO as the village PO, and treated it as such.
Finally a pet peeve. Somebody in the GPOC management needs to recognize that we exported dozens of trained people into the wider society. When I graduated from UG I got a congratulatory letter from the TUC, and a gift from Guystac.  I hope the POC saw it fit to at least send a card to some of our distinguished alumni!! We paid for and should benefit from their training!! But the bigger picture is that we should call upon them as we did with others before to help us move forward.  After we put our mail delivery system  in order, go to Guywa, and GEC, and Guysuco, and GTT, and NIS etc. and ask those we exported there to provide assistance. And  please tell our Minister to tell her colleagues that it makes no taxpayer sense to duplicate services at higher cost, so let them use the Post, instead of internal systems, like vans and special delivery.
And rename the Post Office Training School, the George Doris Training School.
And go back to the basics!!
L A Camacho

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