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]
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]
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]
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]