National Postal Policy 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1. The postal services in the United Republic of Tanzania are provided by the Tanzania Posts Corporation (TPC) as well as by a number of privately owned courier service companies. TPC, which is a government owned parastatal, provides the traditional letter, parcel, courier and other value added services. The TPC also carries out transfer of money and other financial services. 1.2. A developed postal sector creates a sustainable environment for economic development in any country. A modern postal system can help to provide logistical solutions to integrate data and information flows, physical movement of mails and financial transactions. The post can offer ordering and delivery functions for electronic commerce (e-commerce), and become a reliable center which provides payment services for business and customers. The use of postal retail outlets as access points to the Internet via public terminals is a major opportunity for exploitation in future. 1.3. The postal sector in Tanzania should ideally play a vital role in the development of the country by providing among others efficient physical communications to other sectors of the economy. Overall, it should therefore act as a catalyst to the socio-economic development of the country and the fulfillment of the aspirations of the nation. 1.4. The contribution of the postal sector to national development has been constrained by a number of limitations, among which are:i. Inadequate investment which is essential for expansion of the network; ii. Inadequate postal services in most areas but more acutely in the rural areas; iii. Most of the equipment in use by the Public Postal Operator is insufficient and of outdated technology; iv. Existence of a human resource base which is deficient in commercial expertise and lacks experience to operate in a competitive environment; v. Lack of postal sector training facilities; and Ministry of Communications and Transport 1