Uganda re-elected to UPU Council

The Government of Uganda has retained its Universal Postal Union (UPU) Council seat for a second term after elections were held October 5, 2016, during at the 26th Congress in Istanbul, Turkey.
 
"As a member of CA at UPU, we are responsible for ensuring harmonized positions on issues of common interest for the African region at global level," reads a statement issued by Isaac Kalembe, a senior Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) media relations officer.
 
"Active participation ensures that we as a nation keep abreast of the developments in the postal sector, global trends, new postal products and services as well as other internationally trending topical sector issues," the statement says.
 
Uganda's delegation in Instanbul is headed by Frank Tumwebaze, the minister for ICT and National Guidance.  Uganda was among 16 African countries that were vying for 11 seats at the Council of Administration (CA). Uganda came 6th, beating 10 countries.
 
According to Kalembe, Uganda's win at the Council creates future career opportunities for Ugandans in international and regional sector bodies as well as the UPU secretariat.  "This creates a good outlook of Uganda as a nation," he says.
 
UPU is a UN specialised agency that coordinates postal policies among member states. It is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players that helps to ensure a truly universal network of up-to-date products and services.
 
The council fulfils an advisory, mediating and liaison role, and provides technical assistance where needed. It sets the rules for international mail exchanges and makes recommendations to stimulate growth in mail, parcel and financial services and improving the quality of service for customers.
 
Uganda has been a member of the Council of Administration from 2012 to 2016 and is seeking reelection to the Council for the 2016 to 2020 Cycle.  The Council of Administration (CA) consists of 41 member countries with each having representation at the Council.
 
According to a statement from the UCC, Uganda's reelection leverages Uganda's input into decision making on activities and policy direction of the Universal Postal Union. This includes issues on reform of the Union intended to ensure its relevance to members in a modern era.
 
Membership to UPU empowers UCC as the country's representing agency to align Uganda's Postal sector to global postal benchmarks through participation in expert sector discussions.
 
"When we align to the adopted congress 4-year strategy, it ensures that our postal standards and services are compliant to the adopted international postal standards and services," Kalembe says.
 
"Because of the diverse membership of the Union, membership and active participation of Uganda through the UCC enhances opportunities for sector project funding with development partners as well as technical support from international industry experts," he adds.

Kalembe points out that membership of the council gives Uganda opportunity to benefit from the Union's capacity building programmes.