Guyana Post Office begins implementing tighter security

The Guyana Post Office Corporation says new security measures to deter bandits offices have begun to be implemented at its district offices, and as such there has been a time change for the payment of Old Age Pension.

The GPOC said in a statement that its district offices will commence payment of pensions at 08:30h from May 3, 2011. “Pensioners and other stakeholders are kindly asked to take note of this change in arrangements. The Guyana Post Office Corporation also wishes to thank pensioners and other stakeholders for their kind cooperation and understanding,” the statement added.

Amidst a rash of high-profile burglaries at its district offices, the GPOC had announced that it will be revamping its security system. The GPOC has been hit by a number of burglaries, the latest being committed at the Beterverwagting Post Office, from where bandits carted off Gy$5.7 million after torching two safes. Gunmen had also ambushed a car transporting cash for the corporation and had escaped with millions of dollars.

Chairman of GPOC, Bishop Juan Edghill, had announced plans for a massive overhaul of the security of the corporation following the BV robbery. This overhaul would include reviewing the employment of some staff and changing the working hours. Calling the overhaul “a clean-up”, Edghill had said it may also affect the time that senior citizens can begin to uplift their monthly government pension payments.

Edghill admitted that enough had not been done to safeguard the state’s assets, adding that as a result, necessary measures will be taken against those who are found culpable: “I have been asking questions but I am not getting any answers. So there will be changes, and we will have to find out who did not act, and why they did not act.”

The changes will include adjusting the time that pensioners are allowed to visit the post offices for payments. Currently, post offices open from 07:00h for pensioners to cash their vouchers, but Edghill said this will almost immediately be changed to accommodate the new security arrangements.

He regretted that some pensioners may be inconvenienced as a result of this change, but explained that the new arrangements must be put in place. “Because paying these pensions so early requires a security mechanism that is not working, so a new one must be put in place,” he said.

Amendments to working hours may also be made, Edghill said. He added that the GPOC human resources manager has already begun discussions with the workers’ union in order to see what adjustments could be made.

Edghill had appealed to members of the communities, stating that since post offices are “deeply embedded” in various communities, people must collaborate with the police to assist in dealing with the crime situation. He explained that to break into a safe takes a lot of time, and he stated that people need to “do better than they are doing” in order to ensure that this instance was the last.