Minister Martins must investigate CAA disarray
It was disclosed yesterday by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association that none of South Africa's 14 000 aircraft or the country's estimated 10 000 commercial and general pilots are properly licenced. This raises serious concerns regarding pilot competency and aircraft safety, and increases the aviation sector's insurance risk.
This situation has come about because the director of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Zakhele Twala, has been appointed in an acting capacity for more than 18 months and as such does not have the authority to issue or renew licences.
This technicality calls current and future pilot licences as well as aircraft licences into question and leaves the sector vulnerable to serious legal claims and insurance disputes.
Today, in the Transport Portfolio Committee, the DA posed a number of questions to get to the bottom of what is going on at the CAA. It was confirmed that the CAA's director has indeed been in an acting position for 18 months, which is illegal according to the Aviation Act. In response to our questions on why he was not appointed on a permanent basis, we were told that "there are some reasons," which Deputy Transport Minister Lydia Chikunga and her DG refused to elaborate on.
It can therefore be surmised that this failure to appoint Mr Twala to a permanent position implies that he is either unqualified or in some way unsuitable for the job.
It follows therefore that for the past 18 months, the CAA has been led by someone not properly equipped to do the job.
Transport Portfolio Chairperson, Ruth Bhengu, has agreed to our request for a special briefing by the Department of Transport on the status of the CAA and the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA). We will ensure that any questions or outstanding issues are fully answered and discussed.
The CAA has been caught in a serious downward spiral for some time now and it is critical, especially in light of these latest reports, that it take action to begin turning matters around.
The DA has received numerous letters of complaint from CAA staff, pilots and airlines, ranging from:
- Vacancies remaining unfilled because of problems meeting BEE requirements;
- Many staff being under-qualified for the positions they occupy;
- Senior staff remaining in acting positions for too long;
- Pilot certification not being issued timeously or at all;
- Staff being victimised if they blow the whistle on management.
Over the past three years, there have been 383 air traffic accidents reported in South Africa in which 45 people have died. The CAA needs to get its act together fast in order to reverse this trend and avoid laying itself bare to insurance disputes arising from a technicality.
Statement issued by Ian Ollis MP, DA Shadow Minister of Transport, November 13 2012
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