Zambia

1) What have been your achievements in CAA and aviation in your country in 2023 ?

I was appointed Director General of the Zambia Civil Aviation Authority  in January 2024. Allow me to begin by thanking AFCAC for this wonderful initiative that will shed more light on what various States are doing in the aviation sphere. This information is pertinent especially if we are to move as One Africa.

Aviation has been identified to be a key driver and catalyst to Zambia’s socio –   economic development and this has been clearly spelt out in the country’s Eighth National Development Plan (NDP). The 8^th NDP provides for a coordinated and integrated national development planning process that is participatory, responsive and results oriented. One of the four strategic development areas identified in the plan is  economic transformation and job creation of which Tourism is a driver, Transport and Logistics an enabler and Aviation development  a key program and part of the transformation of Zambia as a regional transport and logistics hub.

In light of this, 2023 witnessed a key milestone where the Minister of Transport and Logistics launched the National Civil Aviation Strategy which will run up to 2026. The strategy provides strategic direction in achieving sustainable growth in the sector. As a result, the government has prioritised aviation and has been undertaking massive investments in airport infrastructure. Three of the international airports, namely the Kenneth Kaunda, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe and Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airports were constructed and/or upgraded to international certification standards. The CAA has since successfully certified the three airports according to international standards thus aligning with the Abuja safety targets. The government has also pumped in huge sums of money to upgrade the provincial aerodromes in order to create a hub and spoke scenario where the provincial aerodromes feed into the main or international airports. Last year, saw one of our Provincial Airports (Kasama) being refurbished and upgraded and will be a model airport for all Provincial Airports which the government has committed to undertake. The government has also earmarked expansion to other greenfield airport projects  such as Chinsali, Choma and some national parks in order to boost Commerce, Trade and Tourism for example.

2023 also saw an increase in the number of players in Zambia’s aviation industry. We witnessed the coming in of airlines like Mozambique Airlines; Fly Safair of South Africa and Angolan Airlines has expressed an interest to restart flights into Zambia. The CAA also issued an Air Operators Certificate to Sarago Air a new local Zambian operator signifying confidence in the expansion of our sector.

Stakeholder collaboration and engagement have continued to be key for the CAA. With the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) coming up, the CAA has intensified engagements with the industry as well as various stakeholders. Collaboration on various areas to ensure that there is a shared vision is paramount in order for Zambia to pass the audit. Various stakeholder engaged included: various government agencies; the European Union; AFCAC; World Bank; our operators; the media and the general public.

In addition, the CAA has continued to offer technical support to other States through various programmes in collaboration with AFCAC and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Aviation Safety Organisation (SASO). Through our staff’s technical expertise, Zambia has offered  support to countries like Eswatini, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique and Botswana. We have also collaborated very closely with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) on various areas such as the Support to the Air Transport Sector Development Programme which has three objectives, i.e.  to operationalise the Single African Air Transport Market ; Strengthen  regulatory and institutional capacity of civil aviation institutions in the  East African, Southern African and Indian Ocean (EA SA-IO) region and lastly, improve air navigation efficiency in the EA-SA-IO region. All these collaborative efforts with the EU, COMESA and AFCAC will result into Zambia’s aviation industry scoring well in its performance and ultimately, contributing to Zambia’s socio- economic development.

Zambia hosted a number of international meetings such as the African Indian Ocean (AFI) Inter – regional Civil Military Cooperation Air Traffic Management workshop in August in Lusaka. It also hosted the Civil Air Navigation Organisation (CANSO) conference in Zambia’s tourist capital Livingstone in September. The two conferences brought in participants from across the continent and the globe demonstrating the thriving prospects in Zambia’s aviation sector.

You may also be interested to know that Zambia was selected as one of the countries to implement the SAATM. This has put Zambia on the continental map and we look forward to seeing more results with the implementation of the SAATM. These and other achievements such as the continuous improvement in our Effective Implementation; implementation of the  State Safety Programme; successful implementation of the Aviation Sector Support Programme  and the relaxation of the COVID protocols as well as a waiving of entry visas for some countries so this has encouraged more tourists to visit Zambia. The move has also boosted our passenger and tourist numbers. Today, Zambia boasts of beating pre – COVID numbers.

2) What are your challenges and how can AFCAC assist you?

1. Understaffing: The CAA has encountered a number of challenges. Zambia CAA despite doing well in a number of areas is still understaffed. There is therefore need to increase the number of staff that we can efficiently handle the huge workload.
2. Training: Our technical staff require regular training in specific areas, however, budget limitations necessitate prioritizing operational needs over training..

• Need for Technical support: There is still need for more technical support to strengthen the regulatory role of the CAA. Our cooperating partners like the European Union have done a great job in supplementing some of this expenditure through offering technical support. However, if more partners can come on board, then a number of challenges shall be resolved.

1. Limited avenues for stakeholder collaborations: There is need for more stakeholder collaborations if the SAATM is to work. The SAATM Implementation Plan should be at multiple levels (both high level as well as operational) and because the key players are diverse, there is need for a clear stakeholder engagement and communications plan that will see Africa achieving this.
2. Need for more publicity: Being a government agency, funding is mostly channelled towards high priority areas hence supplementary budgets on stakeholder engagements and publicity from AFCAC on the SAATM to various States would be of great help. I recommend that AFCAC also creates a working group where Public Relations and Communication professionals will be incorporated to help drive this message from a Pan African point of view. This should have the same key messages; similar approach in delivery and all should provide feedback to their DG’s who will monitor how each country is doing. That way, the message will be driven from a One Africa approach and will contribute towards bringing more results.

3) Your commitment to SAATM: how are you going to proceed with the implementation?

Zambia has made tremendous progress in implementing the SAATM. As a country, we have granted fifth freedom rights to a number of countries as you will see later on. Zambia was selected as one of the SAATM PIP countries in November 2022. As part of the SAATM PIP implementing States, we are committed to see to it that we address the various barriers to implementing the SAATM and engage various stakeholders to achieve this. We are committed to the implementation of the SAATM and have ensured that as we negotiate and agree upon new Bilateral Air Service Agreements, we ensure that they are YD compliant. The SAATM has enormous benefits that can spur economic growth for the country. Once Bilateral Air Service Agreements are aligned with the SAATM objectives, Africa will witness better connectivity. Zambia is also open to the granting of fifth freedom traffic rights to airlines so that the skies are opened up to more players. This will translate into better connectivity. We also commit to raising awareness about the SAATM so that all stakeholders can buy into the implementation of SAATM so as to see its benefits.

4) What can you say about SAATM PIP?

• SAATM PIP is a welcome initiative, especially the multi-tiered approach where AFCAC will approach this issue at various levels starting with the Presidents, then Ministers and so forth. Hence this will help provide a structured approach that will produce results and see the implementation of the SAATM being more effective. It will also help streamline efforts towards the desired objectives so that the whole continent has synergies that will culminate into areas of improvement.
• The implementation of the SAATM will unlock Africa’s potential. We will see more productivity in various sectors; less travel time due to better connectivity as well as improved business operations and efficiency. The country and continent as a whole will see more passenger and cargo movement that will spur economic growth. This will foster economic development through enhanced intra Africa trade.