By Ibrahim Joenal Sesay
September 06, 2020, (232News)
FREETOWN – The Director General of Civil Aviation Authority Moses Tiffer Mbayo has said that the key deliverables for 2020 is to certify the Freetown International Airport which is the key priority of the government of Sierra Leone especially President Bio how the airport to be certified also developed civil aviation master plan increase on creating the public awareness for the average Sierra Leoneans to know how the authority operate also they aware that safety rate at the airport is very low that does not mean that the International Civil Authority Organizations(ICAO) should shut down our airport because they have not certified the airport but it has been in operation for long time, but it will have a negative implementation on how the aviation industry will grow.
Mr. Mbayo made this statement when the authority presents their 2020 budget to the technical team in the ministry of finance he pointed out that it will lead to high cost of ticket and airlines will stop coming to Sierra Leone also it will diminishes competition among airlines that mean only one or two airlines will be operating in Sierra Leone which will exploit the citizens so a result of that they would to make it as key policy priority that is part of the Abuja Safety target wherein Africa ministers has set themselves in 1999 indicating that were ever that is international Airport it should be certified also the target was review in 2015 also to review in 2020 all the state should met the target.
According to him, Sierra Leone is one of the few states which has not yet met the target the civil aviation authority is a regulating agency they did not involve in operation’s in terms of upgrading the Airport has to do with government or the Sierra Leone Airport Authority which manage the airport the civil aviation is just providing regulating service there emphasis is more on capacity building to enhance their skills to carry out their regulating functions over Airport and other service providers they allocate 33% of their budget go to human capital building under capital expenditure enhance the capacity of local staff an increment on their wage bill is about 10% as a result of recruitment of staff which the authority want to do, when you add the percentage half of the budget is going towards that particular objectives.
He pointed out that the authority is focusing on the President national agenda also they are accountable to the public and they should continue to questioned them there budget was endorsed.
