04 Nov 2013

HATAB chairperson, Mr Boitumelo Sekwababe has called on operators and regulators to work together towards investing in aviation excellence.

Speaking during Aviation Pitso in Maun, Mr Sekwababe said stakeholder engagement was crucial and thus stakeholders should have a mindset of trust in order to achieve the expected outcomes. He said there was need to introduce an integrated system whereby once they had a plan, they relentlessly focused on its implementation, adding that there were lots of opportunities in the aviation industry.

Citing Singapore as an example, he said the country was now considered the best in aviation industry because of stakeholder commitment to safety and the establishment of a robust air hub. Mr Sekwababe said the stakeholders also developed airline and infrastructure policies to serve business flexibly. He said those were the factors local stakeholders could consider if they wanted to develop an aviation industry.

He also noted that they could bring in competition for better standards and more business. For his part, the chief executive officer of Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB), Major Gen. Jefferson Tlhokwane, revealed that most of the 2012 Aviation Pitso resolutions had been attended to with a view to improving the aviation industry.

Giving an update about the resolutions, he informed the participants that service standards had been developed to improve processes such that turnaround times were improved for things like approval of operations manuals and issues of licenses. The key issue was that an approval of critical documents/manuals, both new and renewals took far too long, and as such, they delay the company procedures and processes.

Another key issue was the understanding of legislation by CAAB so that officers should be uniform to facilitate a common understanding of legislation, regulations, processes, policies and standards among CAAB staff. Major Gen. Tlhokwane said CAAB staff had been taken through awareness workshops to enhance common understanding of legislation, regulations, processes, policies and standards.  Further awareness programmes are planned.

Regarding the harmonisation of laws between ministries, he explained that the process of harmonising legislation was commenced on March 1, 2013, adding that it was a complex process that cuts across ministries. He said the process would therefore take a long time as it entailed identifying conflicting laws and taking the necessary steps to harmonise them. It should further be noted that the bulk of aviation regulations were promulgated in 2012 and early 2013 and that the regulations had only recently been put to use which means that conflicting areas would be identified over time.

It was suggested last year that the ministry should have a dedicated aviation unit, he said, adding that his ministry had dedicated aviation desk officers. Currently a study is being considered to strengthen the aviation unit, Mr Thokwane said. Giving the update on ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission, the director of Flight Safety, Mr Olefile Moakofi noted in the 2006 audit Botswana was rated at 72.8%  Lack of Effective Implementation (LEI). He said it was vital to understand that an ICAO Audit or Validation is for the Contracting State rather than institution such as (CAAB) only. In the ICVM of April 2013 Botswana was rated at 45.7% Lack of Effective Implementation. Mr Moakofi revealed that ICVM results showed a lot of progress since the audit in 2006. ENDS