The Tanzania Posts Corporation is to go digital, in line with other posts companies seeking to grow their revenue generation base and to keep pace with technological advancements.

Postal office officials and experts told a briefing yesterday that it was crucial to adopt modern day technologies to stay in business.

The Tanzanian Science and Technology Minister, Professor Makame Mbarawa said the posts company had to establish its business on new models built on information and communication technology.

“We are living in a digital era and our way of doing things should be in line with the time,” he was quoted saying by Tanzania’s IPP media.

He added that the “use of technology and e-commerce is not an option but mandatory” and explained that “it is the core to all business we need to reform the sector…and retrain the staff”.

The International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) Director General, Bishar Hussein, said he was concerned by the current situation obtaining at most postal services companies across the African continent.

He is quoted saying the postal office business was increasingly becoming vulnerable to the rapid changes the ICT sector is undergoing, hence the need to craft innovative approaches to help post office companies stay in business and make profits.

“The current plan, whose formulation and validation is the main reason for our meeting, bears special significance to Africa as the programmes are based on the regional priorities we had identified within the framework of the round table meeting prior to the Doha Congress…” said Younouss Djibrine, a Senior Official at the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU).

Experts say positive financial results can be realised from further “innovation and diversification” of strategies by companies in the sector.

The Tanzanian posts company is geared towards adopting newer technologies, with experts saying other posts companies in the region could pluck a leaf and also potentially realise the results that digitalisation of operations can bring.