State neglect behind PCK’s collapse

Friday, May 15, 2020 0:01

By JAINDI KISERO

PCK is still able to make regular deliveries to remote and secluded areas of this country.

Following the break-up of the defunct Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC) in 1999, political elites within successive administrations just found it politically expedient to ignore and forget about PCK and to concentrate on the telecommunications side.

A study by the management found that the corporation needed to be funded to the tune of Sh650 million every year by a universal obligations fund that is managed by the Communications Authority of Kenya to cover the cost of running unprofitable post offices.

For many years, successive post-master generals have been writing to both the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Ministry of Land seeking assistance to recover PCK land that was grabbed by influential individuals

Benign neglect and the exploits of corrupt elites - not technological disruption is the biggest factor in the collapse of this strategic parastatal.

Even though the internet is become increasingly ubiquitous and with mail delivery service facing a crisis of obsolescence, it seems to me that we are still going to need a way for delivering hard copy - matters such as court summonses and registered mail to every home and business in the country - a feat none of the corporation’s competitors can match.