‘We want to establish the e-commerce sector as a basic tool for reducing poverty,’ said Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor in charge of the Ministry of Post, Telecommunications, and Information Technology.
He explained how: ‘For example, if someone from a village wants to deliver a product they made to a customer in Dhaka. By adding value chain in between, you can speed up poverty reduction. We want to ensure access to customers by spreading this reverse channel from village to city, or even abroad.’
Taiyeb made these comments yesterday (Wednesday) at a discussion meeting held at the Dak Bhaban in Agargaon at the capital. The meeting included officials from the Directorate of Posts, the Mailing Operator and Courier Service Licensing Authority, and representatives from the e-commerce sector.
Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb noted that people have lost trust in e-commerce because of ‘wrongdoing’ in the sector during the previous government. He called on the postal department and private companies to work together for mutual benefit to regain this trust and expand e-commerce services from urban areas to villages.
Entrepreneurs at the meeting brought up several issues. They asked for WiFi service in post offices, permission to use post office warehouses, renting out unused postal vehicles, making the compensation rule in regulations less strict, reducing the types of licenses needed, increasing license validity from two to five years, allowing courier vehicles to operate 24 hours a day, increasing postal service hours for transporting goods, and allowing courier vehicles to move during the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday.
In response, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb announced that the compensation rule in the regulations would be paused for three months. He also said that businesses operating without a license would be brought under the licensing system. He asked entrepreneurs to make sure customers can provide ratings for services received. He emphasized the idea of ‘reverse e-commerce’ – spreading business from villages to cities and even internationally, not just from cities to villages.
Taiyeb added that a committee would be formed to make necessary policy changes. He also directed relevant officials to check and list all unused postal vehicles.
The meeting was chaired by SM Shahabuddin, Director General of the Directorate of Posts. Representatives from the Mailing Operator and Courier Service Authority, e-commerce representatives, and officials from the Directorate of Posts were present.
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