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RE:
INTRODUCTION TO THE AFRO-CAA PROJECT
Reference
is made to the above mentioned
subject on which are
attached accompanying documents.
We take this
opportunity to give you this short written
brief on the above mentioned subject.
1.
SUBJECT
Whereas;
a)
Some African civil aviation
authorities have shown demonstrable
cooperation, at a regional level, in regards
to developing common technical and
commercial aviation standards.
b)
International trends, such as in
Europe, are moving towards the formation of
regional aviation authorities (e.g.
The European Aviation Safety Agency)
It has now
been proposed that;
Support
be expressed for
a more integrated structure, known as the
African Civil Aviation Authority (Now
Agency) (AFRO-CAA),
to be established to deal with civil
aviation safety in Africa.
2.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
2.1
Reference is made to current
international trends which point in the
following direction;
‘That in the
drafting of new legislation, the approach
should be to:
i)
as far as possible harmonize regional
civil aviation legislation and technical
standards with those of other countries,
especially countries within the continental
region: and
ii)
to
this end undertake the necessary initiatives
within the existing regional cooperation
structures to bring about such
harmonization.
2.2 a)
Such intentions,
mentioned above, can best be implemented by
the formation of an inter-governmental civil
aviation body which was proposed to be
AFRO-CAA.
b) It
was noted that in Europe, just like in
Africa there is the European Union (EU) the
equivalent of the African Union (AU). There
is the European Civil Aviation Commission at
the same level as the African Civil Aviation
Commission (AFCAC). The European Joint
Aviation Authorities (JAA) (no the European
Aviation Safety Agency) (EASA) however does not
yet have a counterpart organization in
Africa.
c)
AFRO-CAA was therefore proposed, to
undertake similar functions to the European
JAA (now the European Aviation Safety
Agency). These are namely;
The AFRO-CAA will be an associated body of
AFCAC (African Civil Aviation Commission)
representing the civil aviation regulatory
authorities of a number of African States
who have agreed to co-operate in developing
and implementing common safety regulatory
standards and procedures. This co-operation
is intended to provide high and consistent
standards of safety and a “level
playing-field” for competition in Africa.
Much emphasis is also placed on harmonizing
the AFRO-CAA regulations with those of the
USA and Europe.
4.
PROGRESS SUMMARY
4.1
The proposal that there be an African
Civil Aviation Authority (Now Agency)(AFRO-CAA) was
initiated by the African Civil Aviation
Agency (Pty) Ltd.
The African
Civil Aviation Agency (Pty) Ltd initiated
the project with the European Commission,
the African Civil Aviation Commission and
the Namibian Government in 2001.
4.2
The African Civil Aviation Agency
(Pty) Ltd has subsequently completed the
necessary documents and a project program
for the formation of the AFRO-CAA based on
existing international establishments and
procedures. The company (Now Agency) also published a
brochure for distribution to various
parties.
4.3
Most importantly the African Civil
Aviation Agency (Pty) Ltd has secured long
term financial support to lobby for the
creation of the AFRO-CAA. |
