Edwin Anyika, general manager, Graylink Express, has expressed displeasure with activities of unlicensed courier operators who are damaging the reputation of legal players in the industry.
He expressed regret that people still patronize these companies without stopping to check their registration and insurance policy status.
CommunicationsWeek gathered that the courier industry in Nigeria has been hit by the activities of illegal operators, who go about their businesses in an unprofessional manner,
‘Imagine a situation whereby bus operators charge N500 for parcels bound for Abuja. It is really discouraging. Even majority of the people are trooping down there and patronizing them because there services are cheap. They do not consider security, professionalism – they do not even wonder what happens if they lose any of their documents. I just hope the regulators are able to do something about it because their activities are really making courier companies suffer’, he said.
He added that if a courier company spends N250, 000 per annum to renew its license, it is expected that the regulators should protect this company and that courier services should be reserved for licensed companies who have professionals that can assure better service delivery. ‘You go and see for yourself, the way they pack shipments; it is total chaos and the caliber of staff, pathetic! That is why they charge so low’.
According to him, ‘this is a menace to some indigenous courier companies. Big time courier companies like DHL, FedEx, UPS are surviving because they do more of international business. They have partners outside the country that they work hand in hand with, clear their goods and deliver their shipments within and outside the country. But most local companies do not have foreign partners to team up with and so, they have to contest for market share with people who are not even legal operators’.
‘The postal act is geared towards protecting the industry so that the real players will have a level ground and be encouraged to put out better services. I hope that the new Postal Act when it takes full effect will address this problem,’ he quipped.