Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has donated 31 motorcycles worth K198 million to Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC) district offices in order to improve mail delivery in hard to reach areas.

Speaking during the handover ceremony in Blantyre recently, MACRA Board Chairperson, Stella Chuthi, said the donation was made available under the Universal Service Fund (USF), which was set up to finance various broadcasting, telecommunications and postal sector projects to address access and service gaps persisting in the sectors.

“Under the Communications Act of 2016, MPC is mandated to provide universal postal services throughout the country. The provision of universal postal services in rural areas is a great burden to the public postal operator,” she said.

Chuthi said the motorcycles will, therefore, among other things, improve quality of basic postal services in the rural and underserved areas, improve conveyance of mail to and from the rural and underserved areas and enhance the provision of other basic postal services.

MPC Board Member, Violet Jumbe, said 80 percent of MPC’s post offices are in the rural areas as such the motorcycles will go a long way in elevating the financial challenges the corporation is facing as well as ensuring efficiency in the delivery of mail.

“Sending a whole mail van to deliver very few pieces of mail is not cost effective and this is where motorcycles come in handy. They fit in well with cost reduction which is a fundamental tenet in our turnaround strategy. On a broader scale, the motorcycles will afford MPC a platform to serve the people of Malawi better,” she said.

USF Committee Chairperson, Pastor Charles Thangalimodzi, indicated that USF is committed to ensuring that communication services are made available in Malawi and also promote research and innovations to ensure the provision of services in the sector resonates with the evolution of technologies.