Theme: Exploring new regulatory models for cultivating competitive markets
Tuesday, 22 April to Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Nairobi, Kenya
8.00–9.00: Registration
9.00–9.30: Official opening ceremony
9.30–10.00: Tea/coffee break
10.00–10.30:
Overview of the theme: Exploring new regulatory models for cultivating competitive markets
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Mr Mutua Muthusi, Director of Development and Cooperation, UPU International Bureau
Panel 1: The importance of multilateralism in fostering a sustainable, fit-for-purpose, modern and rules-based global postal ecosystem
The UPU remains a shining example of the power of multilateralism in action in a world that is increasingly characterized by the unrelenting pursuit of national interests, sometimes at the expense of international legal frameworks and the organizations that uphold them. Noting that the majority of member countries establish their policy and regulatory systems for the postal sector based on the UPU treaty obligations, this panel will be called upon to discuss the growing threat to the multilateral approach. The panel will focus on how organizations such as the UPU can play a crucial role in stemming this tide while maintaining the type of global regulatory cooperation that is necessary for sustaining a single postal territory that is fit for the modern era.
Keynote speaker:
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Mr Siva Somasundram, Director of Policy, Regulation and Markets, UPU International Bureau
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Dr Sifundo Chief Moyo, Secretary General, Pan African Postal Union
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Mr David Mugonyi, Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Communications Authority of Kenya
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Mr David Elvin Suleman, Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority
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Ms Saraï Agbodja, Director of Postal Regulation, Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority, Benin
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Mr Alfred Marisa, Deputy Director General, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe
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Mr Idrissa Ly, Director of Postal Regulation, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Mali
13.00–14.00: Lunch break
14.00–17.00:
Panel 2: Balancing competition and delivery of the universal service obligation in a rapidly changing regulatory environment
Collaborative regulation, agile regulation, evidence-based regulation, risk-based regulation and even experimental regulation have emerged as new trends in the exercise of regulatory mandates in various sectors of the global economy. This is coupled with the growing realization that regulators now, more than ever, need to measure their effectiveness on the basis of objective criteria that faithfully assess whether the degree of regulatory effort and the expenditure of resources actually yield tangible, transformative results on the ground and truly support the policy objectives set by governments. Against this backdrop, Panel 2 participants will be called upon to explore some of these new regulatory approaches and how they are being utilized in their respective jurisdictions to maintain a healthy co-existence between well-functioning, competitive markets and the sustainable delivery of the universal service obligation by state-owned designated operators.
Keynote speaker:
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Mr Altamir Linhares, Director of Postal Policy and Regulation, UPU International Bureau
- Mr Matano Ndaro, Director, Postal and Telecom Services, Communications Authority of Kenya
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Mr Christian Katende, Chair, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, Dem. Rep. of the Congo
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Mr Collins Mbulo, Director General, Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority
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Ms Omotola Adebamike Odeyemi-Fashola, Postmaster General/CEO, Nigerian Postal Service
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Mr Hama Madougou, Director of Postal Regulation, Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority, Niger
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Mr Santosh Gopal, Vice-Chair, UPU Consultative Committee
Day 2 – 23 April 2025
9.00–12.30:
Panel 3: Strategies for addressing current and emerging policy and regulatory challenges brought about by trends in the dynamic and digitally enabled postal sector
Postal regulators face a litany of challenges in the current environment, including:
- Limited policy guidance owing to outdated sector policies and policy inconsistency
- Reluctance of large multinational operators to comply with national regulatory frameworks including licensing and reporting requirements;
- Mushrooming of informal, unlicensed operators of varying sizes and scope, offering services outside the realm of regulatory oversight;
- Resistance of local business to pay licence fees, often citing the failure of regulators to demonstrate the value of regulation;
- Difficulties in enforcing regulatory requirements on cross-border operators domiciled in neighbouring countries;
- Difficulties in detecting errant behaviour in regulated markets owing to increasingly complex business models
Day 2 – 23 April 2025 (cont.)
Keynote speakers:
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Mr Brian Mwansa, Head of Postal Services, Communications Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa
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Mr Paul Schoorl, Policy and Regulatory Advisory Programme Manager, UPU International Bureau
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Mr Emmanuel Kaniyong, Director of Postal Regulation, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Cameroon
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Mr Raymond Laurent Assoua, Technical Adviser, Ministry of Digital Transition, Côte d’Ivoire
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Ms Elise Goldoum, Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Post, Chad
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Mr Mwesigwa Elton FELICIAN, Chief Executive Officer, Director Industry Affairs, Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority
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Mr Gaspard Ntirampeba, Director General of Posts, Burundi
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Mr Tuzinde Mbaga, Head Competition, Uganda Communications Commission
12.30–14.00: Lunch break
14.00–15.00: TBC
15.00–15.45: Open dialogue on regulating digital transformation
Moderator:
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Mr Brian Mwansa, Head of Postal Services, Communications Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa
16.00–16.45: Benefits of, and recommendations for achieving, regulatory harmonization at Pan-African and global levels
Moderator:
- Mr Siva Somasundram, Director of Policy, Regulation and Markets, UPU International Bureau