Air Commodore Kwame Mamphey (Rtd.)is the GCAA Boss
Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw Owusu
Monday August 9, 2010
The Director –General of Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Air Commodore Kwame Mamphey (Rtd.) says running an airline business is a “high risk and non-profitable venture” that needs courage and determination to run it.
“Countries, organizations and individuals are in the airline because of sovereignty, national pride and prestige. If we go into profitability, then probably there will be very few airlines that can stand the test of time.”
Air Cdre Mamphey was speaking at a forum organized by the GCAA in collaboration with the League of Aviation Journalists Ghana (LAJG) to sensitise media personnel on the need to report accurately in the aviation industry.
The forum, a first of its kind under a general theme “Ghana Civil Aviation in perspective” forms part of the GCAA’s effort to open the aviation industry to the public through the media.
Air Cdre Mamphey said the aviation industry has transformed tremendously and the GCAA is positioning itself to be able to meet the challenges in the industry saying “risks and safety management systems are crucial for us and every stakeholder has to be involved in reducing risks in the industry.”
He said “aviation is a high risk venture so it needs to be highly regulated with stringent policies and measures” adding “the industry is going in a direction where every activity has to be licensed.”
He said that there is no what he calls ‘let me try and see’ attitude in the aviation industry and noted “everything has to be done with precision.”
Air Cdre Mamphey said it is in the interest of the airline operators to ensure that there are no accidents because anytime that happens it affect the industry tremendously and that particular airline stands the risk of folding up.
He said the GCAA had been facing challenges with the international airlines in the payment of bills but they recently signed an agreement with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to collect the debt for them.
He also said IATA will be running training courses for players in the industry saying “we want to bring back the training of staff and other collaborators. Next year we will be active in this area.”
The GCAA Boss further said the oil boom is attracting a lot of international airlines into the country adding “we should not restrict airlines from operating from here if they meet our requirements. Let them come and the market forces will determine who will survive.”
He said the GCAA is working hard to bring Ghana into category one in the industry.”
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