Sunday News (Zimbabwe)

Post Offices to accomodate SMEs

- Wilson Dakwa Business Reporter

POST Properties, a subsidiary of Zimpost, is set to invest about $5 million towards remodellin­g its commercial properties to provide trading space for Small to Medium Enterprise­s at selected Post Offices.

Post Property acting general manager Mr Hope Tembo said in an effort to eliminate under-utilisatio­n of the parastatal’s properties, Post Properties will create trading space for SMEs at selected Post Offices.

“We have budgeted $5m to create SME offices and in an effort to address the under-utilisatio­n of our properties while unlocking value, Post Properties is creating trading space for SMEs at selected Post Offices such as Harare Main, Bulawayo, Mutare and Chivhu Post Offices,” said Mr Tembo.

Mr Tembo added that office space has already been created at the Harare Main Post Office and the parastatal was working on obtaining capital needed to renovate the other buildings.

“To date, we have created office space for SMEs at Harare Main Post Office which used to be occupied by a single tenant but now accommodat­es a number of SME’s. Plans for more SME offices/trading spaces have been drawn and we are now putting together the necessary funding so the projects can start,” he said.

Post Properties has over 600 properties with 230 being Post Office buildings and over 400 residentia­l properties spread across the whole country.

Post Properties was incorporat­ed in July 2015 in terms of the Companies Act and licensed by the Estate Agents Council of Zimbabwe in June last year to be a fully fledged real estate company offering property management, developmen­t sales and valuation services to third parties.

Mr Tembo said the completion of the renovation­s was subject to approval by local authoritie­s and availabili­ty of funding although they plan to finish the Harare, Mutare and Bulawayo projects before year end and complete the Chivhu next year.

He also highlighte­d that Post Properties will compete in the wider real estate sector’s third part business such as property sales, property developmen­t, valuation and consultanc­y.

Mr Tembo said the parastatal was also lining up bigger projects such as the proposed Borrowdale shopping mall and a 100 bed student accommodat­ion facility in Mt Pleasant, Harare.

“We also have a programme aimed at revitalisi­ng the Post Office to make it relevant in the advent of technology and changing economic dynamics. The Post Office is gearing itself to provide the platform for many services to the general public such as e-commerce, insurance and financial services among many others,” he added.

Meanwhile, since last year, over 120 Post Offices have been renovated across the country under the Communicat­ion Informatio­n Centre (CIC) programme in which Post Properties is working in collaborat­ion with the Ministry of Informatio­n Communicat­ion Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services, Postal and Telecommun­ications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) and Zimpost.

President Mugabe has so far officially launched eight provincial CICs out of the 10 that he will launch alongside the youth interface rallies.

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