A universal jury awarded the Saint Lucia Postal Service for having the best express mail delivery service for 2014.

The General Post Office has scored a major milestone. A universal jury has determined that it has the best express mail delivery service. Saint Lucia was also the only Caribbean country to qualify for consideration out of 192 countries worldwide.

The Saint Lucia Postal Service was, this week, awarded as one of eight countries out of 192 members of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) – an intergovernmental organization and the main forum for the cooperation between governments, posts and other stakeholders of the worldwide sector - to receive an award for Express Mail Service (EMS) delivery for 2014.

Each year, countries are recognized by the UPU for excellent performance, with three levels of performance awards: gold, silver and bronze. To receive such an award, member countries must meet the performance standards and prerequisites set by UPU, all aimed at providing customers worldwide with a high quality and competitive express mail service.

The performance standards are independently monitored and compiled by Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

On April 9, the Saint Lucia Postal Service was the proud recipient of the much-sought-after gold award and ranked first out of 192 countries for its performance in the handling and delivery of EMS items for 2014.

The prize giving ceremony was held on Wednesday, April 22 in Berne, Switzerland.

Saint Lucia has been awarded in the past, winning a silver award for 2013, the sole award for a Caribbean country that year.

However, this latest award is particularly meritorious and gratifying, as it is the first gold award ever received by the Saint Lucia Postal Service.

Even more remarkable is the fact that Saint Lucia is again the only Caribbean territory to receive an award in 2014, and is also ranked Number One in the world for last year.

Five other Gold awards were given to Hungary, Hong Kong, China, Azerbaijan and Singapore, with Silver to Moldova and Norway and Bronze to Israel.

A senior staffer at the GPO told Nationwide, “Achieving this milestone is commendable, as the management and staff work assiduously to sustain the future of the postal service amidst rapid falling letter mail volumes.”

According to the source, “Efforts are geared at innovation, which include the recently-launched online shopping service and the soon-to-be-launched postcode development, to assist in a more efficient mail delivery.”

She concluded, “Management thanks the staff for their exceptional diligence and illustrious performance; and in addition, management also congratulates the team on the attainment of this August award.”