NAIROBI, Kenya – The future of the Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) hangs in the balance as a damning audit report reveals severe financial distress and an absence of a concrete recovery strategy.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, in her report for the financial year ending June 30, 2024, paints a grim picture of a state corporation staggering under massive debts and operational losses.
The audit highlights a negative working capital of Sh7.7 billion, raising doubts about PCK’s ability to remain afloat.
“The conditions indicate the existence of a material uncertainty, which may cast significant doubt on the Corporation’s ability to continue operating,” Gathungu warns.
According to the audit, the Corporation’s current assets stood at just Sh1.8 billion, dwarfed by current liabilities that had ballooned to Sh9.5 billion.
The report further notes that PCK posted a net operating loss of Sh1.08 billion for the year, deepening its general reserves deficit from Sh6.23 billion in 2023 to Sh7.32 billion in 2024.
Despite this worsening financial position, the Auditor General flagged the lack of a viable turnaround plan in the corporation’s financial statements.
Instead, PCK’s management expressed hope that continued support from the government, creditors, and other stakeholders would help sustain operations.
The absence of a recovery blueprint comes at a time when PCK is striving to remain relevant in Kenya’s increasingly digital economy.
In November 2023, the corporation launched PostaPay, a mobile payments platform aimed at tapping into the fast-growing fintech sector.
The app, which integrates with major wallets and banks—including M-Pesa, Airtel Money, T-Kash, SasaPay, and various financial institutions—has already attracted more than 5,000 users and facilitated over 21,000 transactions.
It offers services such as sending and receiving money, bill payments, and airtime purchases.
Notably, PostaPay promotes affordability, charging transaction fees that are 30 to 60 percent lower than mainstream mobile money platforms. Bill payments are billed at a competitive rate of just 0.2 percent.
Still, digital innovation may not be enough to pull PCK from the financial quicksand without structural reforms and a credible bailout plan.
