14 Mar 2018

Minister of Transport and Communications says government has considered detaching the management of airports from the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB).

Government has also come to a conclusion that the current arrangement be maintained because of low traffic.  

Answering a question in Parliament on Monday, Mr Kitso Mokaila said any entity established should not be a burden to the government because where they have been established they are financed basing on the traffic volume. 

Further, the minister said  government had considered an autonomous authority such as airport company, but has been put on hold. This, he said, was due to the fact that the authority should generate sufficient funds to meet operating costs, which Mr Mokaila said was currently not the case.

He said the aircraft and passenger movement numbers did not support the establishment of an airport authority, which may result in two entities that could not financially sustain themselves.

Member of Parliament for Selebi Phikwe West, Mr Dithapelo Keorapetse had asked the Minister if the government was considering detaching the management of airports from the CAAB and establishing an airports company tasked with harnessing the full economic and business potential of various airports to improve the country’s airports from their status of lackluster waiting halls.

Mr Keorapetse also wanted the Minister to state exactly what was being considered and the timeliness for implementation. Ends