Oneko to transform Posta
Oneko is Posta Uganda’s new managing director. <b>Juliet Waiswa</b> talked to him.
QUESTION: Tell me about yourself and career.
ANSWER: I am an aeronautical engineer, who specialised in avionics. I studied in France for seven years for my undergraduate and post-graduate degrees. After, I did a postgraduate in Strategic Marketing and Sales Management from IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.
I served Kenya in several capacities in the ministry of transport and communications under the Directorate of Civil Aviation for a short period before switching to the private sector.
I have served in the private sector for over 18 years. For the last two decades, I have worked with leading corporations in the region like Singer Sewing Machine Company, Total Kenya, Tetra Pak and East African Breweries.
I served as general manager for Singer Sewing Machine in Congo Brazzaville where I was overseeing operations in Cameroon, DR Congo, northern Angola and Gabon.
Which Company have you left to join Posta?
I was project director of East African Breweries until July when I joined Posta.
What is your vision for the organisation?
I want to turn this company around in line with its vision. I want it to be a leader in the provision of postal services in Africa. We are going to make this vision a reality first within East Africa before we rightly position ourselves as a market leader on the continent.
There is a lot of competition in the business, what plans do you have for survival?
In the last decade or so, liberalisation and deregulation have proved to be the core enablers of growth in any economy. Posta is not only a commercial entity, but is also bound by the Universal Postal Union to provide services to the entire community at an affordable cost. This means that Posta does not always have to deliver letters always on a profitable basis. At times we transport one letter to an area in order to fulfil our obligation as the national postal operator.
We have a reserved area, which gives us monopoly to handle any letter or parcel below 350 milligrammes. This provision was designed to support us operate in unprofitable routes and areas where we have to deliver mail as a community service. This is not the case with other companies. My appeal to Uganda Communications Commission and the Uganda Revenue Authority is to ensure that our competitors do not illegally operate within this reserved area.
In order to Posta more vibrant, we have engaged in a re-negotiation process with our principle partners and re-scheduled some of our obligations in order to build a stronger cash flow base that will revitalise our efforts, improve service delivery and give us a healthier image before the public.
Posta has undergone various reforms since the liberalisation. Where do you position the organisation in terms of performance?
The performance has no comparison in Uganda as far as the power of distribution is concerned. We are the only corporate with an extensive network of 300 outlets countrywide. We are affiliated to over 700,000 post offices worldwide. This exceptional strength should be leveraged upon companies like telecom operators, the non-governmental organisations whose outreach targets the entire country and school stationery distributors.
What business strategy do you have?
We intend to introduce new products that will make us more customer- friendly. I intend to inculcate a thorough cost management programme to control our expenditure and efficiently utilise the resources at hand.
I also intend to optimise the human resource base by giving tailor made programmes.
Ends
ANSWER: I am an aeronautical engineer, who specialised in avionics. I studied in France for seven years for my undergraduate and post-graduate degrees. After, I did a postgraduate in Strategic Marketing and Sales Management from IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.
I served Kenya in several capacities in the ministry of transport and communications under the Directorate of Civil Aviation for a short period before switching to the private sector.
I have served in the private sector for over 18 years. For the last two decades, I have worked with leading corporations in the region like Singer Sewing Machine Company, Total Kenya, Tetra Pak and East African Breweries.
I served as general manager for Singer Sewing Machine in Congo Brazzaville where I was overseeing operations in Cameroon, DR Congo, northern Angola and Gabon.
Which Company have you left to join Posta?
I was project director of East African Breweries until July when I joined Posta.
What is your vision for the organisation?
I want to turn this company around in line with its vision. I want it to be a leader in the provision of postal services in Africa. We are going to make this vision a reality first within East Africa before we rightly position ourselves as a market leader on the continent.
There is a lot of competition in the business, what plans do you have for survival?
In the last decade or so, liberalisation and deregulation have proved to be the core enablers of growth in any economy. Posta is not only a commercial entity, but is also bound by the Universal Postal Union to provide services to the entire community at an affordable cost. This means that Posta does not always have to deliver letters always on a profitable basis. At times we transport one letter to an area in order to fulfil our obligation as the national postal operator.
We have a reserved area, which gives us monopoly to handle any letter or parcel below 350 milligrammes. This provision was designed to support us operate in unprofitable routes and areas where we have to deliver mail as a community service. This is not the case with other companies. My appeal to Uganda Communications Commission and the Uganda Revenue Authority is to ensure that our competitors do not illegally operate within this reserved area.
In order to Posta more vibrant, we have engaged in a re-negotiation process with our principle partners and re-scheduled some of our obligations in order to build a stronger cash flow base that will revitalise our efforts, improve service delivery and give us a healthier image before the public.
Posta has undergone various reforms since the liberalisation. Where do you position the organisation in terms of performance?
The performance has no comparison in Uganda as far as the power of distribution is concerned. We are the only corporate with an extensive network of 300 outlets countrywide. We are affiliated to over 700,000 post offices worldwide. This exceptional strength should be leveraged upon companies like telecom operators, the non-governmental organisations whose outreach targets the entire country and school stationery distributors.
What business strategy do you have?
We intend to introduce new products that will make us more customer- friendly. I intend to inculcate a thorough cost management programme to control our expenditure and efficiently utilise the resources at hand.
I also intend to optimise the human resource base by giving tailor made programmes.
Ends