CIG plans post office investment for future viability
George Town Post Office, Grand Cayman
(CNS): Government has released a strategic assessment document looking at ways to reduce the Cayman Islands Postal Service’s dependence on public subsidies and find ways it can make money. The report found that personnel at the post office present “one of its main challenges”, with some workers being resistant to change. But ruling out privatisation, government officials said the goal was to improve productivity and efficiency and reduce running costs to reverse the fall in revenues and the need for the public purse to inject more than $1 million every year.
The assessment conducted under Project Future outlines a number of problems, including workers who have been reluctant to adapt to change, crumbling infrastructure, a lack of investment, as well as creativity in management and the failure to adapt. The authors of the report pointed out that the private sector is less than interested in major parts of the postal service because they are costly to run and hard to make profitable.
Government’s newly trained teams of business developers, however, will now be working on an outline business case to narrow down what government should do to help develop the potential of the post office to generate more income and offer a more efficient service. During the 2015/16 fiscal year government pumped $1.65 million into the CIPS, even though it is expected to collect $3.24M, illustrating the high running costs.
In order to improve things, government is facing a significant upfront investment in technology to develop a modern infrastructure and to develop new markets. However, the government number crunchers said that, in the long run, the investment would reduce the subsidies.
Kurt Tibbetts, the minister with responsibility for the post office, welcomed the strategic assessment and what he described as the “realistic options for maintaining and even enhancing the services” identified in it and the goal of tackling growing government subsidies.
“This project is potentially very significant, not just for the government but for all the people and businesses on our islands who rely on the Cayman Islands Postal Service,” he said.
With the strategic assessment signed off by Cabinet, the OBC, which is expected in August, will detail the preferred options for change and implementation.
Category: Government Finance, Politics
That the Postal Service (?) should require an annual subsidy is the height of insanity. If it were run properly, as a private enterprises would be run (but still as a government entity), it would be a real money spinner for CIG!
The term ‘going postal’ in the US means to get in a fit of rage, uncontrollably angry. Here it means ‘to wait a long time for crap service, and get ripped off by suspicious charges’.
I have ‘gone postal’ here in Cayman in all kinds of places, CUC, Water Authority, local internet providers and the Post Office.
In the 60’s farmers took their rabbit heads to the Post Office to collect the government bounty. The Post Office staff who have nothing else to do, could be used to pay bounties once again and they should have enough space to store a few million green iguana heads.
Warning–do not attempt to read the strategic assessment. It causes severe stomach reaction and possible Zika virus.
What exactly does Kurt Tibbetts do to justify his outrageous salary. He is the Eugene Ebanks of the PPM.
It’s far worse than that. He IS the PPM. The most powerful politician on the island. They all ride on his coat tails.
A classic example of the “hail fellow well met” kind of politician. He has the common touch and it matters not that he gets nothing done.
I think that Government should not even think about privatization of the post office, cause I think it would be the biggest smuggling operating in the Cayman of anything you want .
For starters, we should really consider firing Kurt Tibbetts and any other dinosaur excuse takers from the kleptocrat social engineering school that harbor pernicious employees “resistant to change”. Recourse couldn’t be more obvious: they and their wasteful underlings should all be put on written notice that they will be terminated for not adopting new policies and standards of employment commissioned over the years, just like any other employee at any other job anywhere in the world. They should be bound by an employer contract and code of conduct since there is a list of people willing to fill those posts. Who the hell do they think they are?!? Exhibit A on how the CIG spends our money with the acuity of a drunk sailor.
Government need sell these company as they can’t make money due the directors/managers hands are tied. Government don’t know how to run a business as same as other government round the world. Sell post office, turtle farm also cayman airways.
And how do you sell a loss making operation, which requires hefty capital investment, with little expectation of viable business growth?
Pay them a fixed fee for providing the public service obligation. Be cheaper than just throwing subsidy at the Post Office, as the private sector operator will run it more efficiently and without BS from protected and entrenched employees who refuse to come up to modern standards of service. As for the market growth – why do you think there are private sector entities making a healthy living already providing mail services if there is no money in it?
Any private operator, Jotnar, who took it over would get rid of (“downsize” “rightsize” blah blah ie fire people) and we would be left with a whole heap of unemployable Caymanians with no income, health care or pension possibilities. Where would that get us? Then we could move on to cutting the Fire Service in half to bring it in line with various consultants’ reports and what we all know about the number of “activities’ that they actually have to deal with. Then we would have an additional bunch of unemployable young male Caymanians to deal with. I made this point several years ago to the managing partner(a Caymanian) of Ernst and Young before the EY report was even thought of and was rewarded with a condescending smile and “it’s just not sustainable” to continue to employ such people.
So pay the subsidy to the private sector who are in the business of turning a profit from my taxes in the form of the subsidy? No thanks. I’d rather it stay in the Civil Service where we can bash at it until they get it as efficient as possible. But these will always be loss-making operations and I’d rather pay for the social aspects (delivering my utility cheques cheaply) through the Civil Service than subsidizing private sector profits to deliver the mail for me.
Does the link work above for anyone else or is it just me?
CNS: Apologies! I fixed the link.
We post our mail into 2 holes in the wall. They drop into 2 laundry baskets.
Collecting a parcel from overseas is hard work, sometimes you spend your whole lunch hour there and have to leave as you’ve run out of time. You queue at the parcel window, then get the parcel which is usually opened, even if there is a declaration on it with the contents and price. Once the charge has been established you go queue at the other window. You pay and wait for your receipt from the lady who types with one finger. Once you have your receipt you go back in the parcel queue to collect. Surely this can be more streamlined. Many birthday and Christmas parcels just don’t make it. I would love an hour to rake through the mail room, bet I could find lots with my name on it! Just deal with the basics please.
“workers who have been reluctant to adapt to change” and there was me thinking workers did what the boss told them to do – silly me.
this only happens in the private sector where one actually has to worry about losing their job………
But didn’t they win the best small post office in the world award and JuJu flew to Dubai to collect the award!
Well here’s a couple of thoughts. Instead of the government paying outside cleaners to clean the post office (they are there ever day) have some of the staff do it. And instead of having a security guard ‘on patrol’ sitting there all day, have a staff member do it. Honestly he’s 5’4″ and 125 Lbs, most Caymanian women in the civil service could batter him with their left hand while eating a pattie with the right.
Considering the ridiculous amount Fedex charges to send a document, it would be great if the PO could get its act together.
“Government’s newly trained newly teams of business developers” – dear God, you can’t make this stuff up. Let me guess, the report is going to involve a) commissioning a study b) ignoring the study because its politically sensitive c) raising charges or imposing other “services” that the private sector has to pay for even tho it doesn’t want them and d) doing nothing to cure the underlying problem in the hope it can be ignored until after the next election. At which point the cycle will repeat.
Jotnar. ..you are an embarrassment to the informed CNS readers.
Those days in the civil service have long gone.
Where were you when the DG announced that 50 civil servants were trained to write business cases.
Have you read this document. It’s outstanding and reflective of the new civil service. Get information buddy.
50? In a place as small as Cayman? 10 well trained should be more than enough…
Hire a more efficient staff would be the first option and then raise then stamps and quit printing new stamp versions every year as no one collects stamps as in years past. consolidate all the post offices you have into one large building with lots of parking. Its a small island people could dive to one location
Only if it is located near the Kittiwake…
The Post Office is one of those “employer of last resort” government departments that provides “social employment”, that is employment for very low skilled Caymanians (and the department is 100% Caymanian) who would not be employed anywhere else. I am NOT saying this is a bad thing; in fact I think it is entirely acceptable. But we should recognise it for what it is.
Time to send the Speaker on another jaunt to the International Postal Union (via New York of course) to get some ideas.
Can we send her with no return postage?