Douglas Zimbango has left Zimpost
DOUGLAS Zimbango, the country’s postal services utility managing director (MD), the Zimbabwe Post (Zimpost), has left after serving 10 years at the helm of the wholly government-owned company.
His reasons for leaving could not immediately be obtained.
Sifundo Chief Moyo, who has been general manager of Zimpost subsidiary, Post Properties, has been appointed the acting MD.
Contacted on the issue this week, Moyo confirmed that he has been appointed acting MD.
“Yes I was appointed as acting managing director of Zimpost two weeks ago,” Moyo said without giving further details.
The development comes at a time when the emergence of new forms of communication platforms has hurt the postal business in Zimbabwe. The company is under pressure from a growing mobile telecommunications industry, which has resulted in less use of its traditional services.
Zimpost is among hundreds of African State-controlled, old model postal outfits now under threat of being pushed out of business for failing to adapt its business to global telecommunications.
The new information technology-based platforms and innovations have hit revenues and volumes at Zimpost.
Previous models which the company crafted failed to realise the need to transform Zimpost from a postal services firm to a complete telecoms enterprise, even as indications were high that technologies were fast eclipsing the old business thinking.
Its favoured postal model has lost relevance as Skype, Whatsapp, Yahoo mail, Gmail and Facebook, among others, have dominated the market.
Urban and rural citizens are embracing technology and are skirting old post offices to transact through mobile-based platforms such as Ecocash, Telecash and OneWallet, meaning that Zimpost’s operations in registered postal money services and telegraphic money transfer have slumped.
Mail delivery has been undermined by the introduction of e-mail and SMS-based bill delivery platforms being preferred by municipalities, the power utility ZESA and land line operator, TelOne.
Domestic mail volumes processed by Zimpost are currently at slightly over one million mail pieces per month, while international mail processed by the company amounted to over 100 000 mail pieces per month. The decline in volumes has seen its workforce fall to 1170 from 3000.
Zimpost, which handles about US$300 million worth of transactions per annum, has had its flagship mail delivery business drop by 86 percent in 16 years.
The letter delivery business contributed 80 percent of its business in 2000, but has dropped to 20 percent, as business shifts to the fast and efficient electronic-based platforms.
Zimpost, however, recently unveiled its ambitious turnaround plan dubbed: “Beyond the Envelope,” under which the firm plans to diversify its business in order to increase revenue and bounce back to its former status.
The turnaround plan would involve automating the Zimpost system. Zipcash, a money transfer services, has since been launched to ride on Zimpost’s strategic link to 600 000 post offices worldwide.