If it works well, why ‘privatise’ it? That’s the view of Liberal Vannin leader Peter Karran who is opposing possible plans to hive off Isle of Man Post Office.
Radical changes to the way some government services are run – starting with the operation of the Post Office – are going to be brought in from October onwards, Chief Minister Allan Bell has confirmed.
It is likely the government will hold back from full privatisation - but a planned sell-off of the Royal Mail in UK may have an impact on proposals here.
Member for Economic Development Richard Ronan introduced the Post Office (Amendment) Bill into the House of Keys at the end of last month.
This legislation will allow Isle of Man Post Office to operate with a greater degree of freedom like postal undertakings in the UK and to diversify into areas such as logistics, communications and financial services.
Onchan MHK Mr Karran said he could not see the need to privatise the Post Office - but hoped it could be become a national bank.
He told the Examiner: ‘My concern is that if it works well, it washes its face, why privatise it? We need to look at the Post Office as a national bank. We need a more sensible way forward. I believe there’s a need for a small business bank.’
All government departments and statutory boards have been asked to review the way they operate services as part of the Scope of Government exercise.
In the UK government-owned companies Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd have operated in competition with private sector concerns.
Postal services have largely ceased to be profitable but the UK undertakings have been able to diversify their operations into more profitable areas like communications and logistics - which Isle of Man Post Office as a statutory board is currently unable to do.