Preserving a legacy: Adapting Lebanons postal service to a digital world

Preserving a legacy: Adapting Lebanons postal service to a digital world

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2023-07-11 | 12:37

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Preserving a legacy: Adapting Lebanon's postal service to a digital world

The mail carrier represented an era before the establishment of the State of Greater Lebanon, before inventing telephones, and before technology infiltrated our lives.

Today, despite the prevalence of email, social media, and automation, the role of traditional postal services is far from over.

In fact, it remains the largest logistical network in the world, with over 650,000 post offices and 5.3 million employees, according to United Nations statistics.

The postal service acts as the official conduit for nations, facilitating the swift transfer and tracking of packages and documents. Moreover, it enables businesses to engage in e-commerce, reaching customers wherever they may be.

Postal centers also play a crucial role in facilitating government transactions, including fee collection and tax payments, thereby ensuring revenue for the state treasury.

However, Lebanon faces challenges in its postal sector.

The same company has operated the postal service since 1998, with the contract renewed approximately eight times, without any modifications to its terms, which have been deemed unfavorable to the state. It provides only a tiny percentage of revenue to the treasury.

Over the years, from 1999 to 2019, the sector's total contribution to the treasury amounted to a