The visually impaired will have to pay 50% more when sending braille materials to Europe and the United States, in the newly revised postage rates.
The new rates, announced by Postmaster-General Dan Kagwe on Tuesday, will hit hard at a disadvantaged group at a time when various organisations are going out of their way to make the lives of those living with disability easier.
Being a state corporation, many would have expected Posta to give special consideration to the physically challenged persons in its pricing model as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.
The postman, it seems, has given a blind eye to the visually impared persons.
Under the new rates, which take effect on May 24, the cost of renting a post office box has risen by between 38% and 64%. Kenyans sending mail internationally will have to part with as much as 50% more, including the visually impared.
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The Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) had in January applied to the regulator to have charges increased in a bid to boost flagging revenues.
Defending the move, Mr Kagwe said that the changing times required a move that woul keep them in business, which amounted to increasing rates. “The cost of doing business is not the way it was 10 years ago, when we last reviewed these rates. I think it’s just fair for us to cover our costs,” said Mr Kagwe
Mr Kagwe said the corporation currently spends Sh600 million per year on maintenance of some of its post office infrastructure, costs that are not met by the PCK’s revenues. While the cost of renting an individual letter box remains unchanged at Sh2,320 every year.
The PCK has been facing stiff competition from a thriving private courier industry and the State agency it has been trying to diversify its services and cut costs to survive.
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