Rwanda yesterday joined the rest of the world to mark the World Post Day that falls on 9 October.

The day, which was first marked in 1969 also, is the celebration of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in Switzerland in 1874.

Rwanda joined UPU in 1963.

A series of activities which included a tour of the Main Post Office were organised by the National Post Office to mark the day.

The Director General of the Rwanda Post, Celestin Kayitare, noted that it was an opportunity for the public to know more about the Post Office.

"The development of ICT affected the business of Post Office. People prefer electronic mail to post,” he said, adding that some offices and organizations still use their services and to beat competition, they have improved service delivery.

Celestin Kayitare pointed out that they now have the  track technology, where every parcel sent through the Post Office is tracked until it reaches its destination.

The Post Office along with all the members of UPU will soon set up a new and affordable money transfer system to compete with other entities like Western Union and Money Gram. 

The post office has also registered a steady increase in profits.  Rwf 23m profit was collected in 2008, Rwf 79 million in 2009, and Rwf 124m in 2010.It has re-opened 21 branches countrywide.. 

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