The new postal code districts for Tobago
EVERY business and house in Tobago should now have been assigned a postal code, according to the Minister of Public Utilities, Nizam Baksh.
The Minister was speaking at the launch of the new postal codes on Monday. "We are making a clean break with the old and highly unreliable system of casually locating addresses and moving up to the international standard of postal addressing used all over the developed world," notes the Minister.
Postal cards are now being delivered to all residents to inform them of their new address. These can be used to notify banks and companies of an official change of address. Those who don’t receive a card are urged to make a request at the Trinidad and Tobago Postal Corporation (TT Post) Delivery Office at Dutch Fort.
As part of the implementation, the Division of Infrastructure and Public Utilities will be installing new street signs in areas where there are none.
Despite the fact that it has taken years for the postal codes to be implemented on the island, Minister Baksh noted at the launch that the process had been completed in "record time". The introduction of postal codes to Trinidad is currently only 40% complete.
The Minister says that as well as improvements to mail delivery, the postal code system will also help improve response times by the emergency services and help the Government reach its citizens. He urged all Tobagonians to make sure that they informed all correspondents of their new addresses, including banks and utility companies. Baksh stressed that deeds and other legal documents, which use the old addresses, would still be valid.
The Managing Director of TT Post, Reynold Baldeosingh thanked Tobago’s 38 village councils for working on the project. He believes that it will help to improve the global view of Tobago.
"It is meant not to change only how efficient we are when we deliver mail, because with the postal code, the mail will be sorted faster and more accurate, but it is meant to change how the external world view Tobago," declares Baldeosingh.
The TT Post Postal Code Task Officer for Tobago, Victor Fraser says the project had some challenges, including difficulties in correctly matching people with addresses, because residents were not at home when TT Post representatives called. As a result, he says, "there are some outstanding areas, because we had some challenges."
The new postal code system now includes empty lots and developing areas. It also assigns odd numbers on the left hand side of the street and even numbers on the right, depending on where the numbering begins. Fraser explains that some residents will have an Alpha numerical system attached to their numbers, such as 7, 7A, 7B. For those residents who reside in a housing development community, and have not yet been given a standard address, they will receive a civic numbering system which is equivalent to lot numbers. Streets without names have also been identified, and a list of names has been sent to the Tobago House of Assembly for approval.
The Tobago News asked members of the public if they were aware of the implementation of postal codes, and if they had received postal cards.
Deborah Murphy from Milford Court, Bon Accord says that she was aware that it was to be implemented, but was not aware that it is now on stream.
Christine Cayton says that she did not hear anything about the postal codes, and was not aware that it was being implemented or that it had been launched. She however welcomes the new system saying, "I will now be able to give a proper direction to where I reside, because the street doesn’t have a name."
A resident of Mt. Grace, June Isaac hopes this will put an end to "the mix up" with mail, and hopes that it doesn’t affect her existing delivery service.