National Post Office (Rwanda)

The National Post Office (French: Office national des postes, Kinyarwanda: iPosita Rwanda) is the company responsible for the postal service in Rwanda. As of 2009, the Director General of National Post Office was Celestin Kayitare.^[1]

The local post office at Gisenyi in North-West Rwanda

Rwanda is part of the Universal Postal Union, which recommends a maximum of 9,000 people per one post office branch.^[1] As of 2009, Rwanda's population is around ten million, and would need 1,111 post office branches to meet this recommendation.^[1] As of 2009, Rwanda had nineteen post office branches.^[1]

During April 2010, the Office National des Postes announced, through the Universal Postal Union, that several fraudulent issues of stamps were circulating.^[2]

Illegal competitors

The Office National Des Postes was granted a monopoly for thirty years in 1992 by the Parliament of Rwanda, then known as the National Development Council.^[3] Private services do business in the country despite the government's protests.^[3] Atraco, Sotra Tours, Okapi, Virunga, and Muhabura Bus have been named by the postal service as companies operating illegally.^[3] As of October 2009, a law was being drafted to crack down on illegal courier services.^[3]

International monetary fund

A November 2000 report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on reducing poverty in Rwanda stated the IMF would try to make the Office National Des Postes financially self-supporting, while also providing affordable services.^[4] According to the report, this would improve the communication structure, allowing those living in poverty to more easily find jobs.^[4] As part of a November 2000 agreement over aid with the IMF, the Rwandian government agreed to make the Office National Des Postes self-sufficient by September 2001.^[5]

See also

• Communications in Rwanda
• Postage stamps and postal history of Rwanda