Anthony Hylton, the Opposition spokesman on industry, investment & global logistics, has commended the leadership of the Post and Telecommunications Department for starting the process to transform the 350-year-old postal system into a ‘logistical giant”.

The announced plans outlined by the Postmaster General recently, include plans to upgrade the digital connectivity and transportation infrastructure of the Postal Corporation of Jamaica, along with plans to upgrade some 24 post office locations throughout Jamaica, starting this year.

The announcement mirrors a call made by Hylton during last year’s Sectoral Debate, in which he said: “If we are to build back better and not just build-back, and to tap into the full potential of the global e-commerce market, the government must direct its attention to improving the postal service delivery system, especially aimed at supporting our Micro-Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)”.

Hylton dedicated a major part of his presentation in Parliament then to the need for Jamaica to build a robust e-commerce eco-system to take advantage of the growing trend to online shopping globally and in the region, as an accelerated response to the COVID pandemic by both businesses and consumers.

He pointed to Jamaica’s low ranking of 74 out of 152 countries in the latest United Nations Conference on Trade and Development ( UNCTAD) Business-to- Consumer (B2C) E-Commerce Index 2020, and said: “The most binding constraint identified for the Caribbean, including Jamaica, Is the unreliability of our postal services. This speaks both to the need for greater logistical connectivity, with the necessary upgrade to both physical and digital infrastructure of the postal services itself, and the physical and digital infrastructure that they rely on to do their job efficiently and effectively.”

Hylton continued: “Unless we address the barriers and constraints identified in the index through directed policies, this will only remain but an illusion and out of reach.”

Following on the recent announcement of the work having started to address the issues highlighted by him, Hylton shared that: “This is a truly critical undertaking, which must be evidence-based and data driven and requires great skill and experience. Above all, it requires a clear vision and deliberate planning. Success in this venture will transform Jamaica’s economic competitiveness and make a lasting contribution to our efforts, so far, at the social and economic inclusion of our people and businesses, especially the MSME sector. Therefore, we must get it right the first time.”

Hylton said he was also calling for transparency in the planning and implementation of the potentially game changing initiative.