KAMPALA – The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), the country’s regulator of communications sector has trained courier operators on e-commerce, postal, and courier services.
In conjunction with Universal Postal Union (UPU), the UCC opened a three-day workshop on Tuesday, April 16 to engage operators on concerns related to mail security standards, cyber security, and mandatory data exchange requirements, among others.
The UPU is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system.
Julianne Rwakakoko Mweheire, the Director of Content Development and Industry Affairs at the UCC said the operators will be trained on the industry’s changing dynamics, especially in the new era of digital and economic transformation.
“A lot of our carriers have been licensed entities because they now appreciate the need for standardization in the process of delivering services to their clients, particularly in the last mile side,” said Mweheire.
“As a regulator, we are working so hard to create an enabling environment for the e-commerce to thrive by making sure that customers are protected”.
Mweheire urged consumers to approach UCC in case they are scammed in the process of buying goods online.
“Our key role as UCC is to protect the consumer [and] so anybody who is licensed to offer service, particularly in the sale of goods online must ensure that delivers exactly what the consumers ordered for.”
Although the number of licensed courier service providers in Uganda has increased over the past years, Ms. Mweheire stated that there are still illegal courier service providers in the nation, which they are actively attempting to eliminate.
“The number of licensed courier service providers has increased from 17 to now 40 companies, we would like to see everybody in the industry come and get licenses from us and people should only use the licensed courier service operators,” she said.
A postal service is the conveyance of postal articles in consideration of a payment made by or on behalf of the person for or to whom it is conveyed, according to UCC.
This includes the acceptance, collection, clearance, sorting, transportation, delivery, and other related ancillary functions of conveying an article.
UCC says that a “postal article” means an addressed article weighing up to 30kgs which is deposited to the postal service provider in the final form in which it shall be transported by the postal services provider.
Examples include letters, postcards, printed material (newspapers, magazine books, pamphlets, documents, etc.), and packages (sample packets, small packets, parcels, and packages).
Section 33(1) of the Uganda Communications Act of 2013?stipulates that “a person shall not convey, deliver or distribute postal articles without a license issued under this Act.”
Mr Fred Otunnu, the Director of Corporate Affairs, said that posts and couriers play a significant role in driving the social and economic transformation of the nation.
“Postal and courier services have undergone evolution over the years, with advances in technology. Through innovations and digital transformation, we have seen continuous growth in e-commerce that can only be driven by courier companies to complete the supply chain.”
The workshop running under the theme: Combating Counterfeit Products and Securing Last-Mile Delivery Processes in the Digital Era, will also address mail security, e-commerce among others.
Mr. Matthew Nice, the General Manager, Global Rapid Interdiction of Dangerous Substances (GRIDS) asserted that postal services are the driving force behind e-commerce due to changes in customer preferences, wants, and choices, emphasizing that customers place online orders and have their packages delivered by mail and courier.
“We are here to build the capacity of operators in Uganda and to integrate information related on how e-commerce and postal interact with each other,” explained Mr. Nice.
The workshop brought together licensed operators and government agencies that have a stake in both domestic and international mail supply chain including the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), National Drug Authority (NDA), Uganda Police Force (UPF)- Drugs and Narcotics, Uganda Civil aviation Authority (UCAA).
