By Yamikani Yapuwa
Blantyre, April, 12, Mana: Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) Communications has threaten that it will soon start taking action against unlicensed courier service operators.
MACRA Communications Manager Zadziko Makhambo said this on Tuesday at Wenera Bus Depot during a sensitization campaign.
“We have noted that there is a tendency that there are buses and minibuses or motor vehicles conveying parcels from one place to another without a license.
“So, this is a restricted area where whoever does that is supposed to have a license and this is in breach of the Communication Act section 122 which says that everybody must have a license to do that business,” said Makhambo.
He said as a regulator they have been receiving complaints from licensed courier operators about unlicensed operators getting in the way of their businesses.
“The licensed operators are complaining because they pay something to get a license so that they adhere to some conditions stipulated in their licenses.
“MACRA also monitors the quality of their services to ensure that the general public is happy with the way the business is being done.
“On the other hand, unlicensed operators they do it anyhow, sometimes goods are sent and lost and they have nowhere to go,’ he said.
He therefore cautioned the general public against sending parcels with unlicensed operators saying the conduct is dangerous as one cannot get compensation once their parcels are lost.
“That why we are doing these sensitizations to serve as a warning to them as once we apprehend them the fine is K1 million- or two-years imprisonment,” said Makhambo.
In an interview Swift Courier Services Blantyre Branch Manager Paulinho Sanudi said unlicensed courier operators are killing their business as people lose trust once they get bad experience with them.
He said the sensitization campaign that MACRA is conducting will go a long way in making people aware the importance of sending parcels with licensed courier operators.
“The courier business has just boomed recently as such, these sensitizations will help people to understand courier critical issues about the industry,” said Sanudi.
