MBABANE – The Ministry of ICT is working on introducing an official addressing structure, physical or otherwise, for all urban, rural and informal settlements in the Kingdom of Eswatini, termed the National Addressing and Post Code System. Today, the Ministry received a feasibility study report on the project.
The implementation of the project is in line with the Universal Postal Union’s (UPU) global initiative of ‘Addressing the world-An address for everyone,’ launched in 2019. Among other things, the report recommends the enforcement of a building numbering structure for both business and residential areas as well as the development of a door-to-door product and service delivery system.
Ministry of ICT Principal Secretary Phesheya Dube, as represented by National Archives Director Nqoba Msibi expressed his hopes for the project. He said, “We imagine a country where addresses are used for countless purposes including the stimulation of e-commerce, improved access to emergency services, identity verification, voter registration, welfare provision and care and fraud prevention amongst the many benefits.”
“Such essential infrastructure is a cornerstone that facilitates business exchange, increasing efficiency in global transportation and logistics. International trends dictate to us, as a country, to leverage and harness these developments to our advantage for enhanced economic development. Today’s assignment is aligned with the country’s Strategic Roadmap,” added the PS.
ESCCOM CEO Mvilawemphi Dlamini echoed the PS’ words. “There is an urgent need to adopt modern day addressing and post code systems. We are all aware that as a country we are still lagging behind on these critical issues and emaSwati are robbed of the litany of potential benefits flowing from having a comprehensive national addressing system. To us as the Commission, this presents a colossal challenge that needs to be confronted as a priority, and it is for this reason that we support the efforts by Eswatini to join the global drive to implement a National Addressing and Postcode System,” said Dlamini.
