The Postal and Courier Services Regulatory Commission has cautioned that it will not hesitate to arrest and possibly prosecute operators of courier services that are not licensed by the Commission.
It follows a crackdown on Wednesday [June 26, 2019] where about sixty motorbikes were impounded for offering courier services without licenses.
The latest action by the Postal and Courier Services Regulatory Commission succeeds earlier warnings for such operators to get their businesses captured in its database.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Hamdaratu Zakaria told Citi Business News the move is to safeguard patrons and sanitise the courier service business.
“We have realized that illegal courier operators are trying to take over the market. But as a Commission, we have the responsibility to protect the interest of our licensed operators and that is why we embarked on this exercise. We also carried out this exercise for the consumers to also know that they run a risk of losing their goods if they engage the illegal operators,” she remarked.
The impounded motorbikes were sent to the Accra Central office of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department of the Ghana Police Service.
Though the arrested courier operators were found to be involved in various services from the delivery of letters, clothing, or other items, the majority of those arrested were those in the food delivery business.
Per law, the unlicensed operators are subject to a spot fine of 600 cedis or three-month imprisonment or both.
While some opposed the fine, other operators yielded and paid to get their motorbikes released.
Meanwhile, the regulator insists it will not renege in this effort in ensuring a level playing field for all operators.
