Utility Fights for Survival With Tied Hands.

(From The Nation (Kenya) - AAGM)

Byline: Wachira Kang'aru

Even as Postal Corporation of Kenya struggles to reinvent itself to survive in a fast-changing world, it can only fight with its hands tied.

To make a single decision the corporation must follow five books of law and still keep its mission of providing universal postal obligations on the radar.

This means that PCK must by law deliver letters and funds transfers to far-flung geographic locations of the country, even when the economics of the business do not make sense and still compete on a commercial basis with even better-heeled rivals.

For this trouble, the company enjoys certain monopolies to protect its business. For instance, PCK has a legal monopoly to sell postage …