Namalomba tells Malawi Post to ditch ‘letter office’ mindset, go digital

Malawi’s Minister of Information and Digitalisation, Dr Shadrick Namalomba, has called on Malawi Post Corporation to abandon its reliance on traditional mail services and pivot towards digital operations if it is to remain relevant.

Addressing staff in Mzuzu on Thursday, Namalomba said digitalisation had become a necessity rather than an option for public institutions, urging the state-owned postal operator to integrate digital platforms across its mail, courier and financial services, adopt new ICT systems and retrain its workforce accordingly.

“Shift from a ‘letter office’ mindset to a ‘service and solutions’ mindset,” he told staff, setting out a vision for the corporation to diversify into e-commerce logistics, digital payments and agency banking.

He also recommended partnerships with government and the private sector to improve last-mile delivery in rural areas, and suggested the use of thin banded plastics for packaging to enhance security and presentation.

In response, staff raised concerns over transport constraints, ageing infrastructure, the need to refurbish the Mzuzu office, and gaps in capacity building.

Namalomba assured them of government backing through policy direction, training programmes and strategic partnerships.

Elias Banda, the corporation’s director of finance, thanked the minister for the visit, while Namalomba commended staff for their work and urged them to become more innovative and customer-focused as the institution pursues its digital transition.