June 27, 2007
Africa's skies are set to become safer
with the inauguration on Thursday of
the African Civil Aviation Agency (ACAA),
a continental body to standardise and
oversee licensing, training and
inspection of aviation staff and
equipment.
"Like the rest of the world,
Africa is trying to standardise and
have a uniform, liberalised airspace,
and you can't do that with 54
different civil aviation
authorities," ACAA CEO Mwangi wa
Kamau said on Wednesday.
The ACAA is to be based in the
Namibian capital, Windhoek. Five
regional bodies, based in Libya (North
Africa), Ethiopia (East Africa),
Cameroon (Central Africa), Nigeria
(West Africa) and South Africa
(Southern Africa) will serve as
networking agencies under its
auspices.
Together with Morocco, Egypt, Algeria
and Kenya, the five countries that
will host the regional bodies account
for over 80% of air traffic in Africa.
With staff drawn from and paid for by
governments affiliated to the ACAA,
the body hopes to bring down the rate
of fatal aviation accidents in Africa.
Accounting for a mere 3% of global air
traffic, Africa has a
disproportionately large share of
accidents.
"At the moment we stand at 17%,
or just under one in five of all fatal
aircraft accidents in the world,"
wa Kamau said.
He attributed the dramatic rise in
accidents over the past few years to
the increase in air traffic across the
continent and the increase in the
reporting of accidents, but also to a
lack of responsibility on the part of
pilots.
A "culture of patronage"
reigns among pilots, who often feel
more beholden to their employers than
to their passengers, he noted.
"What we're trying to do is
develop a culture of responsibility,
with or without the long arm of the
law looking over your shoulder."
This, he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur,
will not only help bring down accident
rates but also ensure that
better-trained staff are not siphoned
off to other parts of the world.
"If the ACAA can ensure that
aviators are certified and paid
according to international standards,
they will be able to help ensure air
travel in Africa is deemed safe."
Pilots will be able to move freely
across the continent and take up new
positions without being subjected to
lengthy national approval procedures.
Industry experts predict growth of
5,4% for Africa's commercial air
transport sector over the next 20
years, driven, according to Airbus's
latest global market forecast, by
solid economic and tourism growth and
inter-African traffic.
Worldwide growth in the sector is
predicted at 4,8%.
Africa's fleet of commercial aircraft
is also predicted to more than double
by 2025, to about 1 000.
Currently, most Africa airlines are in
state hands and, despite a basic
agreement on the liberalisation of
African air traffic, operate in a
heavily regulated market.
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