Afghanistan has been through everything. Now it wants to dust off its postal service and modernize
In parts of Afghanistan where there are no street names or house numbers, utility companies and their customers have adopted a creative approach for connecting
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — In parts of Afghanistan where there are no street names or house numbers, utility companies and their customers have adopted a creative approach for connecting. They use mosques as drop points for bills and cash, a “pay and pray” system.
Now the national postal service wants to phase this out by putting mailboxes on every street across the country, part of a plan to modernize a service long challenged by bureaucracy and war.
The lofty aspirations include introducing access to shopping via e-commerce sites and issuing debit cards for online purchases. It will be a leap in a country where most of the population is unbanked, air cargo is in its infancy and international courier companies don't deliver even to the capital, Kabul.
The changes mean Afghans will pay higher service fees, a challenge as more than half the population already relies on humanitarian aid to survive.
