LAUNCHING OF BVI  POST CODE IS IMMINENT

by Giorgio Migliavacca

The Territory is finally implementing a pre-requisite of efficient postal communications by adopting a postal code that will positively impact the  processing  and speed of delivery of both incoming and outgoing mail.  The BVI postal code is going to be launched on 30 October, thus  placing the Territory on a platform of  efficient global communications that is so crucial to both our tourism and financial sector industries.

Road Town, the suburban areas, villages and sister islands will be given a postal code that will help identify the final destination/provenance at a glance. Just by looking at someone’s address you will know if he lives in town, out of town, north shore, on Virgin Gorda, or any of our 40 Virgin Islands. The BVI Postal Service will assign a specific postal code for each quadrant and area in the territory.

The BVI postal code begins with two alpha characters—”VG” — followed by a five digit number. Both components are exceedingly important because VG is the international postal code that identifies the British Virgin Islands  (to avoid conflict with the code “VI” already in use in the USVI), while the five digit number is the clue to the location of the addressee (or sender) in the Territory.

FAMILIARIZATION PHASE IS CRUCIAL

According to Postmaster General Mr. Kevin Smith the use of the numerical segment of the code has been carefully coordinated with the Town & Country Planning Department and it has reached a degree of refinement that will allow mail sorters to know whether the addressee or sender lives on Main Street, Fleming Street, Wickhams Cay and so on. This prompted the next question: we have general delivery, postal boxes, but unlike the bigger islands in the region we never had house-to-house mail  delivery, why do we need such precision in our postal code? Mr. Smith says that the day may come, in the not too distant future, when the BVI Postal Service will offer the luxury of house-to-house mail delivery.

The dynamic and young Postmaster General has a vision of our postal service that could well place it in the top three positions in the entire Caribbean. His arduous task is to make it a reality.

As far as the postal code is concerned, Mr. Smith says that the postal administration has already embarked on a series of workshops to familiarise his staff of 45 with the novelty. Additionally, similar exercises will be carried out to educate financial institutions and large companies about the use of the postal code. A public awareness campaign will be conducted by using both electronic and printed media and an help desk will be created to assist the public.

The idea of adding a postal code to your address may look a bit intimidating at first, but actually it’s as simple as 1, 2, 3. The Post Office will assign a postal code to the area where you live or to the location of your PO Box and all you will have to do is to add it to your address: for example “John Doe, PO Box  XYZ  Road Town, Tortola, POSTAL CODE, British Virgin Islands.” And remember:  if you want your mail to move fast you must use the postal code.

EXPRESS MAIL AND ELECTRONIC MONEY TRANSFERS

Despite the great progress made by telecommunications and communications via fax and internet the volume of incoming and outgoing mail has shown very minor adjustments, but  the demand is as strong as ever. Given the presence of a vibrant financial sector the demand for high-end services such as express mail is also crucial to a modern and efficient postal service.

Postmaster General Smith said that by 2007 express mail will be gradually introduced throughout the BVI. At first our express mail service will deliver to the Caribbean and USA destinations, but in due course it will expand on a global scale. “We are looking at commercial carriers and the options they offer, we are also liaising with the Barbados Postal Authorities who are leaders in the region when it comes to express mail service and high end postal services,” Mr. Smith explained.

The procedure of mail sorting as regards to incoming and outgoing mail has remained the same since the day Road Town had its first post office in 1787, and that is—the sorting clerk reads the address and sorts the mail out according to the destination. While there is nothing wrong with that, it surely is antiquated and labour intensive, But Mr. Smith is quick in saying that mechanisation and automation of postal operations is being looked into, and that’s not all.  “We are going to offer electronic money transfers and a series of new products that will place the BVI post to the forefront of postal services in the region.”

Mr. Smith expressed his determination in improving the way the post office does business, “We want to remove the stereotype that we are a dinosaur. We are going to reinvigorate the service and while we work at it we welcome constructive criticism.”

It certainly is a very ambitious agenda that Mr. Smith and his staff have cut out for themselves and they will need all the assistance they can get from the Ministry of Finance under whose portofolio the BVI Postal Service falls. To begin with, the post office will need greater autonomy, better and larger facilities and some serious investment. There are also plans to commercialise its operation, changing its rank to that of statutory body. In the meantime, Mr. Smith perseveres in his mission and some positive results can already be seen. The mail from the USA East Coast (Miami and New York) takes now about four days to reach the BVI and his direct hotline with Royal Mail has made quite a difference in speeding up mail to and from Europe and beyond.