COMESA Pushes for Stronger Air Transport Regulations
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has emphasized the importance of strengthening regulatory frameworks and harmonizing agreements to enhance competition and foster collaboration among air carriers in Africa.
COMESA Assistant Secretary General Ambassador Dr. Mohamed Kadah said this would make travel seamless, such as flying from Lusaka to Tunis without detours, through Paris or Dubai, a tangible reality for all Africans.
“To achieve this vision, we must confront the challenges that have slowed our progress. The pace of programme implementation has been less than desired, and it is now imperative to reassess our strategy in order to deliver measurable results. This is especially critical as we need to demonstrate value for money in anticipation of the requested no-cost extension,” Dr. Kadah asserted.
Dr. Kadha said this in his virtual address during the opening session of the 3rd Programme Steering Committee Meeting for Support to Air Transport Sector Development (SATSD) in the Eastern Africa, Southern Africa and Indian Ocean (EA-SA-IO) Region, being held in Lusaka, Zambia.
He noted that the success of SATSD hinges on harmonized regulations and improved infrastructure, made possible through collaborations such as COMESA’s Memorandum of Cooperation with the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC).
SATSD is an 8-million-euro initiative, funded by the European Union (EU), and stands as a cornerstone of Africa’s Agenda 2063, advancing the vision of a Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), an AU flagship project vital for regional integration.
According to Dr. Kadha, the success of SAATM is essential for liberalizing the continent’s air transport market, for the effective implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and for African regional integration and development.
“We envision a future where SAATM opens up unrestricted access to destinations across Africa,” Dr. Kadah said.
He urged the Steering Committee to reassess ongoing and outstanding interventions to ensure alignment with programme goals, and formulate a robust implementation strategy for 2025 that demonstrates value for money.
“Explore opportunities to strengthen coordination and collaboration with key stakeholders, including AFCAC, IATA, ICAO, and others, to ensure we realize our desired impact within an achievable timeframe,” he added.
Speaking earlier, Head of Infrastructure at the European Union (EU) Delegation to Zambia and COMESA, Massimo Bonannini, called for urgent need to address the financial and institutional capacity challenges that are hampering the development of Africa’s aviation sector.
Mr. Bonannini said this is in a bid to bring the policy and regulatory frameworks in line with international standards and the liberalization of the air transport market, following the 1999 Yamoussoukro Decision.
“Addressing these challenges would improve air connectivity, reduce operational costs and lower fares, contributing to make the aviation sector more efficient and resilient.,” Mr. Bonannini stated.
He however observed that other EU funded programmes to support the aviation sector have delivered positive results.
“Only 3 weeks ago we had the closing ceremony of the Aviation Sector Support Programme II in Zambia, a true success story in which the SATSD Programme should mirror,” he said.
