| KINGSTON, May 15 (JIS): |
 The
Post and Telecommunications Department is reporting a 300 per cent
increase in revenue at some 80 post offices across the island last
year.Minister of Commerce, Science and Technology, Phillip Paulwell made the disclosure while making his contribution to the 2004/05 Sectoral Debate in Gordon House earlier this week. Mr. Paulwell disclosed that Paymaster Jamaica Limited expanded its services to 57 post offices, while Moneygram increased transactions by 330 per cent. Forty-eight post offices also started selling virtual phone cards, resulting from an agreement with Aldus Limited, which was signed in September. Jamaica National Small Business Loans, he said, had also deepened its partnership with the post office and was now operating at 11 locations. The Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security was also fully mobilized during last year where the post offices now distribute the social benefit cheques to approximately 60,000 households covering 180,000 beneficiaries islandwide. He said that another service to be introduced was the pilot phase of an agreement signed last June with GATS Limited, a subsidiary of Swiss Post, to establish an international mail hub at the Norman Manley International Airport. Commenting on the volume of mails handled, Minister Paulwell said that this increased by 27.7 per cent, compared with the previous financial year. Minister Paulwell also told his colleagues that the final draft of the Postal Services Bill should be completed during this legislative year. He also mentioned that a Private Letter Box project, which was expected to install at least 4,000 new boxes, would also be implemented. The Messenger/Courier Service in partnership with Skypostal is expected to come on stream this year and the new postal coding system should also be implemented. The number of post offices providing commercial services would also be increased to 125. |
