23 Sep 2014

The Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Nonofo Molefhi has urged stakeholders in the aviation industry to work as a team towards providing a safe and secure aviation environment.

Mr Molefhi said they should show commitment towards driving the aviation safety environment to international standards as safety was one ingredient to all operations. 

He said achieving aviation safety and security was a challenge for all hence the need to come together and transform the industry to greater heights.

Officiating at the 5th Aviation Pitso 2014 under the theme ‘Driving Botswana aviation safety environment to international standards’, Mr Molefhi said safety was everybody’s business, adding that most of air operators had what they term safety management system which is corporate safety culture in short.

He said driving the aviation industry to international standards was appropriate noting that their determination and commitment to grow the industry would be defined by their collective ability to provide a safe and secure environment.

The minister called on the stakeholders to interrogate numerous types of aviation safety and security hazards. 

“You may recall the unfortunate incident of October 11, 1999 whereby an Air Botswana aircraft crashed into two other packed aircrafts by one of its crew members. That was a safety crisis that could have been avoided had our aviation security been a bit more improved or enhanced,” he added.

Mr Molefhi observed that Botswana had not yet experienced acts of terrorism (like hijackings) whereby flight crew members were invariably forced to divert from the planned air navigation routes to airports other than destination or alternate airports and ultimately having precious lives or equipment destroyed.

He said even though the country had not experienced such acts, it was not immune to them; hence there is need for constant reminder to take aviation safety and security serious at all times.

He cautioned stakeholders to be alert and conscious all the time and if possible and also increase their surveillance monitoring. He said as operators they should be abreast of what is happening around, adding that they should also familiarize themselves with international rules and regulations if they want to be compliant.

The minister observed that the government was putting in place measures such as promulgation of regulations to provide a conducive environment to achieving the goal of complying with international standards.

It was reported that a significant progress had been made in addressing the two Significant Safety Concerns (SSCs) that were identified during the ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) in April 2013.

Mr Molefhi said it was crucial to continually domesticate the Annexes to the Chicago Convention into the country’s legislation and ensure implementation and enforcement. 

He implored all who were affected to cooperate with Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB) in order to close the identified gaps with a view to clearing the two SSCs.

Stakeholders were also urged to explore and exploit the business opportunities that could be derived from this unique industry. Mr Molefhi said tourism was the second foreign exchange earner after the mining industry noting that the line between aviation and tourism was very thin.

He said there was a lot of potential for growth and opportunities are many. ENDS