DESPITE MEDIA such as email and instant messaging, the Post Office remains the primary means of communication for millions of people, and Government is committed to the postal service in Barbados.
Minister of Home Affairs Adriel Brathwaite, in addressing the official opening of the Christ Church Post Office in Oistins yesterday, said Government was “committed to ensuring the provision of postal services was kept at an optimum level”.
“One of the challenges of the Post Office is that it must remain financially viable while maintaining its social responsibility, so we have to bridge that gap . . . and ensure the post office can maintain some level of profitability.
“It is our hope over the next couple of years that the Post Office will be a profit centre in its own right. It is our desire to increase our efficiency to ensure we’re not only competitive but indeed we surpass the expectations of our customers,” he said.
The new facility boasts five cashiers, spacious offices, a high quality vault, a lunch room, sick bay, water fountains, air conditioning, closed circuit television, a standby generator and back-up water supply, covered parking for motorcycles, an Automated Banking Machine and 178 private letter boxes.
Brathwaite said the 5 160-square-foot building took 17 months to complete at a cost of $2.3 million, around 22 per cent more than the original estimate.
“This was due to a number of agreed variations required by the Post Office as construction proceeded, that were in fact necessary if staff were to be properly accommodated,” Brathwaite said.
After the speeches, Member of Parliament for Christ Church South, John Boyce, and Brathwaite officially opened the Post Office. This was followed by a tour of the building, hosted by Acting Deputy Postmaster General Nigel Cobham. (CA)
Here, Acting deputy Postmaster General Nigel Cobham (right) conducting a tour of the Christ Church Post Office as he leads (from left) Minister of Home Affairs Adriel Brathwaite; PostMaster General Joel Brathwaite (partly hidden); Minister of Labour Dr Esther Byer-Suckoo and Member of Parliament for Christ Church South, John Boyce.
