Minister of Home Affairs, Edmund Hinkson (left) in talks with Valeta Best, Acting Postmaster General with the Barbados Postal Service, on location at the St. Lucy Post Office.
The Cabinet of Barbados has already approved new Postal Delivery Regulations for the island, which will serve to make the delivery of postal services a bit easier.
Minister of Home Affairs, Edmund Hinkson revealed the above to members of the media, as he toured several post offices across the island yesterday, with a top team from his Ministry and the Barbados Postal Service. The tour commenced at the St. Lucy Post Office, followed by the St. Peter Post Office, where Minister Hinkson interacted directly with staff and heard their concerns. He was also scheduled to visit the St. James, Eagle Hall and Welches Post Offices, concluding with the Brittons Hill Post Office.
“On Thursday in fact, Cabinet would have approved the actual regulations themselves and they will be shortly laid in Parliament, by way of what is called negative resolution, which would mean that 40 days after, once there are no objections by any member of Parliament, that they will become the law of Barbados. This will make the delivery of postal services a bit easier,” Minister Hinkson indicated.
“It will address a vexing issue, where dogs for instance may leave properties, because they are not well harnessed on the properties and harass postmen and that is unacceptable. It happened in my neighbourhood, while I was a Minister. I fully supported the stance taken by the Post Office then not to deliver the mail, because the dog was running all about the neighbourhood. So I experienced this by firsthand knowledge and in that case, the legislation will say ‘look, we are not delivering the mail if it is dangerous to our workers.
You have to come and collect your mail for a fee, at the post office’,” he maintained.
The Home Affairs Minister further noted that in terms of residential developments, once there is a community of more than 50 homes, the regulations will say that there must be a common area where postmen can deliver the mail, rather than have to go to all fifty or more houses in the development.
“For high rise buildings, both offices and residential, again, there must be an area on the ground floor where the mail can be delivered. All single homes will have to have a mailbox, because we know again that it is difficult on occasion delivering mail, if there is no mailbox,” Hinkson also said of the coming regulations.
The Minister also spoke of a study that is being conducted, which will lead to the modernisation of the postal services in Barbados and to make the Barbados Postal Service on a whole, more competitive.