Postal franchise scheme to create grassroots jobs nationwide
The Directorate of Posts is creating new opportunities for grassroots entrepreneurship and employment through the launch of its “Franchise and Letter Writer Module,” while also aiming to reduce government expenditure.
The service is initially planned for 12 areas across the country, with operations already underway in Dhaka, Rajshahi and Khulna. It will gradually be expanded from upazila to rural areas.
Talking to BSS, Kazi Asadul Islam, Director General, Directorate of Posts, has said the initiative has primarily been taken to create new employment opportunities in line with the election manifesto of the current government.
As part of the initiative, the pilot programme will soon be launched in the hilly region of Bandarban and Salla in haor-surrounded Sunamganj, he said, adding that the service will gradually be expanded from upazila to rural areas.
Meanwhile, Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam has inaugurated the service at the Postal Bhaban on July 29.
In the first phase, a total of eight franchise post offices, including four in Dhaka and four outside Dhaka, have been launched.
Talking about the technical preparations for franchise post offices, Director of the Sustainable and Modernization of Mail Processing and Logistic Services project Md Shah Alam Bhuiyan told BSS that the Franchise and Letter Writer Module has been launched on a pilot basis under the project.
Once fully implemented, it will create opportunities for young people to work as entrepreneurs at the grassroots level and create employment for many.
Shah Alam, also Additional General Manager, said 6,000 mobile sets and 500 computers have already been supplied across the country under the project. Besides, work on developing three software systems is also underway, he added.
Asked about the government’s 180-day action plan, Director General Kazi Asadul Islam said the Directorate of Posts, has taken up eight specific tasks in line with the election manifesto, one of which is launching franchise post offices.
He said the initiatives have increased the postal department’s capacity to transport seasonal fruits and other products several times compared to the past.
Currently, crates of fruits weighing 20 to 30 kilograms and various other products are being safely delivered to any district in the country within 24 to 48 hours, he said, adding that in the case of remote upazilas, it takes a maximum of 72 hours.
“These operations are being successfully completed without any complaints,” he said.
On the progress of the parcel tracking system, Shah Alam said there was previously no way to know where a product was during transportation. Now, each parcel is issued and delivered through the Domestic Mail System (DMS) using a barcode on the parcel, resulting customers can get updated information about their products from home, he added.
According to Directorate of Posts, several more initiatives have been taken to bring government services to people’s doorsteps. These include home delivery of land deeds, passports and driving licences.
Work is also underway to launch cash-on-delivery services for e-commerce products. The Express Mail Service (EMS) facility is also available for sending parcels abroad at a low charge.
Explaining the reasons behind the changes in the Directorate of Post’s services, the Director General said receiving, transporting and delivering letters, express mail, parcels and packets are the core services of the department.
Besides these, functions such as operating savings banks and savings certificates, distributing textbooks and vaccines, and selling lottery tickets or prize bonds are mainly agency functions assigned to the Directorate of Posts by the government at different times, he added.
He said the use of personal and official letters has declined as technological advancement has enabled people to communicate instantly through live video calls and SMS. As a result, there is no longer a need to wait for months for a reply to a letter as in the past.
Similarly, the trend of doing everything online has increased due to the government’s overall policy, he said, adding government offices are now also using e-files and D-nothi instead of paper documents, resulting the use of official correspondence is also gradually declining.
The Director General believes that although the use of letters has declined, new opportunities are opening up for the postal department through e-commerce.
Mentioning that all the products bought and sold online by citizens of the country are postal items, he said parcels and transportation of goods are now taking the place of letters. Therefore, the postal department is being reorganised around this core service.
He said initiatives such as franchise post offices are creating employment opportunities while also utilising the potential of e-commerce.
The Directorate of Posts will return in a new form by creating new services and opportunities in line with the demands of the times, he added.
The Franchise and Letter Writer models will essentially operate as two different forms of the same service with the aim of expanding postal services and making them more people-friendly.
If an organisation enters into an agreement using the name and brand of the Directorate of Posts and takes responsibility for collecting and distributing products in a specific area, it will operate as a “franchise”.
On the other hand, if an individual performs the same responsibility independently or on their own initiative, they will be considered a “letter writer”.
Once the initiative is implemented, it will create opportunities for new employment at the individual level alongside institutional entrepreneurship.
