By William
Yaw Owusu
Tuesday June
12, 2018
ECOWAS member states are working
feverishly to introduce a common policy on charges, taxes and fees in the
aviation industry in West Africa.
Experts from the sub-region have
commenced a meeting in Accra to discuss the issues and conduct a study on the
regional aircraft maintenance facility.
The validation workshop was
organized by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) at the instance of ECOWAS
Commission and the Ministry of Aviation.
They would issue a paper after the
three-day meeting on the way forward.
Opening the workshop, Minister of
Aviation Cecilia Abena Dapaah, stressed the need for ECOWAS member states to
collaborate effectively in order to become competitive in the aviation
industry.
She said the ECOWAS Region still
lacks efficient, reliable and affordable air transport.
The Minister underscored the need
for drastic measures to overcome the challenges in the industry.
She said in 1999, African
ministers responsible for civil aviation adopted the Yamoussoukro Decision,
named after the Ivorian city.
Per the Yamoussoukro Decision, 44
signatory countries were expected to deregulate air services and promote
regional air markets to boost transnational competition.
In 2000, the decision was endorsed
by head of states and governments at the Organization of African Unity and it
became fully binding in 2002.
The minister, however, said some
member states have decided not to implement the decision.
She said the NPP government was
working hard to ensure that Ghana becomes attractive for investments and the
aviation sector is expected to play a key role in this effort.
The minister said that a new
terminal at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) that is expected to process
about 5 million travelers per annum would soon be commissioned.
She also said the government was
in the process of upgrading the Kumasi and Tamale Airports to international
status as part of efforts to open the aviation industry in the ECOWAS region.
Pathe Gueye, Commissioner
in-charge of Infrastructure at the ECOWAS Commission, said the commission has
been assisting member states to provide what he called “a safe, reliable and
coordinated air transport system that can provide regular air links among the
member states, as well as explore means of ensuring equitable access of
eligible airlines to the West African air transport market.”
He said the commission is also
leading member states to strengthen aviation safety and security, promote a
viable airline industry in the region, implement the ECOWAS Air Transport
flagship projects and Aeronautical cooperation.
Ing Simon Allotey,
Director-General of GCAA, in his opening statement, underscored the need for
constant knowledge sharing and stronger ties to overcome the challenges and
make the industry better.
He said GCAA is committed to
adopting measures to ensure safety through conformity to international
standards.
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