NIA waives late fee for private mail box renters due to COVID-19 impact

NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (July 06, 2020) —Hon. Spencer Brand, Minister responsible for Posts in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), says a decision has been taken to waiver late fees for persons with private mail boxes at the Nevis Postal Service.

The minister noted that in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the postal service and the decrease in postal traffic to the island, it is prudent to assist to ensure that the postal system is not overwhelmed at this time. He made the announcement during his presentation at a sitting of the Nevis Island Assembly on July 02, 2020.

“I want to say to our general public and those persons who have private letter boxes, we have taken a decision to waive the late fees for our private letter boxes under the period April to December 2020 because we recognise even though those persons have those mail boxes, not much is going into them other than bills, and we are trying to ensure that we don’t necessarily overburden the system,” he said.

To date, there are 1,223 active private mail box holders on Nevis. The boxes are situated at the Charlestown Post Office, Valu Mart Complex, Rams Complex, and in Gingerland.

Mr. Brand explained that due to the closure of the borders of St. Kitts and Nevis because of the pandemic, there continues to be a significant decrease in the number of packages received.

“To date, we have seen a decrease of some 745 packages to Nevis when we take the same period of last year. As a matter of fact, the United States of America is the only territory that is actually sending and accepting packages from these parts, and we continue to weather that storm as it regards to the operations at the post office,” he said.

The minister used the opportunity to thank the staff at the Nevis Postal Services and commended them or their service during what he termed difficult times.

“This is another department that was also severely affected, and I want to place on record my sincere thanks and congratulations to the staff there at the post office. They have weathered this period under some very trying and testing times.

“Some of the workers had to work from home to reduced working hours but I believe that they continue to serve the general public with a sense of purpose, despite the challenges that they are facing,” he said.

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