Postal box rates in Victoria go up |02 February 2017

Many holders of postal boxes in Victoria recently received a letter informing them of an increase of R300 – from R1200 to R1500 – in their rental fee.

Seychelles NATION  inquired with the Seychelles Postal Services (SPS) about that change and also about the current operation of this important service. Errol Dias, the chief executive of SPS updates us with the changes.

SN: Why has there been an increase in the rental of postal boxes in Victoria?

E.D : The last revision made was over three years ago. The main reason for the revision made to postal boxes in Victoria is to meet the increase in operational costs in order for the post to remain economically viable.

SN: How many postal boxes the SPS has rented out to the public?

E.D : About 2090 boxes – 1770 in Victoria at R1500 per year,                                     200 at Beau Vallon at R1200 per year. Others being rented out at R600 per year include Anse Royale (120), Anse Aux Pins (100), Perseverance (150), Grand Anse Praslin (80), Baie Ste Anne Praslin (25) and La Digue (25).

Our ongoing project is to have an extra 200 letter boxes at Providence at R1200 per annum.

SN: How many offices and how many staff you have currently?

E.D: We have our main Post Office in Victoria and four Sub Post Offices in Anse Royale, Grand Anse Praslin, Baie Ste Anne Praslin and La Digue and we have currently 119 staff.

SN: With emails and other facilities, how are the operations being affected at the Seychelles Post?

E.D: With the growth in Information Communication Technology (ICT), SPS is experiencing a decline in both inbound and outbound mails volume.

SN: Are you proposing new services to the public to make the Seychelles Post viable?

E.D: Apart from our traditional services, SPS is providing new services such as Key Cutting, Bill payment for telephone and Data Capture processing for Bill of Entry.  SPS is also planning to diversify into other products and services in the future.

Compiled by Vidya Gappy