A runner or colloquially referred to as a “Malaicha” was arrested this week for operating without a Postal Licence.
ZRP Licence Inspectorate Statement
On this date 6th of April 2021 around 1400 hours, upon receiving a tip off, Constables Nyanzou, Chiwabutsa and Mundezhaof Z.R.P Harare Licence Inspectorate accompanied me to attend.
At about 1745 hrs I visited the accused person’s office and discovered that he was collecting parcels from senders for delivery to addresses in Bulawayo.
Upon enquiry I discovered that the accused was offering Postal Services without a Postal Licence thereby Contravening Section 32 (2) of the Postal and Telecommunications Act [Chapter 12:05]
With the assistance of Z.R.P Licence Inspectorate officers the accused was arrested, goods were seized. The goods were handed over to Z.R.P Harare Licence Inspectorate Lost and Found property section and booked as exhibit on reference number 1078/21.
The accused had no legal right whatsoever to offer Postal services without a licence.
Recorded at Z.R.P Licence Inspectorate on 06/04/2021 at 0900hours.
Now I am sure most of you have used or have heard of Malaichas/runners. They are a big part of the remittance and parcel delivery ecosystem in Zimbabwe albeit illegally. In 2016 it was estimated that a billion was being remitted through third parties like Malaichas.
In this case, the Runner (operating locally) was arrested for offering courier services without a Postal Services Licence. This, as stated in the police report, contravenes the Postal and Telecommunications Act which says in Section 32:
“Subject to this section, no person shall operate a postal service except in accordance with a postal licence.
Except as otherwise prescribed, a postal licence shall not authorise any person, other than the Corporation”
From the information we received, the individual was fined ZWL$25 000 for breaching the law. However, the vehicle and goods the individual was carrying were returned.
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3 comments
ZRP kushaya zvekuita here, buses locally have been carrying goods for long time,do they have postal licence,ivo ma runner cross border do they have licences ?
This sounds like a score being settled. In as much as there are laws requiring licencing, many laws are never enforced until a hand-picked person needs to be dealt with. It becomes selective application of the law.
Very true. I haven’t heard them encouraging people to apply for these licences the same way they tout for us to buy party cards and things like Nhimbe. That’s outrageous