By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
Aviation stakeholders in the country have started a three-day workshop to prepare for a forthcoming security and safety audit by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The workshop, which is being held at the Freetown International Airport in Lungi is aimed at improving the security and safety of the airport.
This meeting brought stakeholders together from the Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority (SLCAA), Airport Authority and government ministries like Finance, Transport and Aviation, and Planning and Economic Development
The three days engagement, which is organized by SLCAA, will feature technical discussions on the lessons learnt from the last audit review and lay a road map for preparation for the forthcoming audit.
The audit is part of ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program (USOAP). The next audit on Sierra Leone’s airport and broader aviation sector is due in November, 2021.
SLCAA Director General, Moses Tiffa Baio, told Politico on the side-lines of the meeting that they are not taking anything for granted despite the progress the sector have made since the last audit more than a decade ago, hence the reason they are starting engagements this early.
Speaking on what their meeting will focus on in the next three days, he said: “We want to define what safety oversight is based on the Sierra Leonean context. We want to look at what happened in 2006 when the last audit was done and what are some of the measures we can put in place to make sure that when the audit comes next year we are better prepared,” Baio said.
He said the engagement will create the necessary awareness among all aviation stakeholders in the country and will help them understand what is expected of them when the ICAO audit comes around next year.
Baio said they have to make sure that they raise the standard of safety of the airport.
“Right now our safety rating is below 20%, which is appalling, and the global average is 60%. So you can imagine that we have three times the work to double our effort to reach that 60% average,” he told Politico.
Head of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Transport and Aviation, Dickson Rogers, said: “This workshop will give us a lead to take our position in the international community.”
ICAO’s Deputy Regional Director, Prosper Zo’o Minto’o, who joined the workshop via Zoom, praised Sierra Leone’s “proactive” stance in dealing with the issue of security and safety of the airport.
He said the regional office will always be on board to support the country in its efforts to have a much more secure airport.
If Sierra Leone succeeds in getting a 60% or more rating in the ICAO audit, this could give bigger carriers across the world much more confidence to land at the Freetown International Airport. In the long run it will also increase air traffic to the country and bring in more revenue.
The General Manager of the Airports Authority, Ebenezer Macauley, said: “we will be ready for the audit and everything will be in consonance with what ICAO is looking for especially when we are starting the engagement almost a year to the inspection.”
Sadiq Sillah, Deputy Minister of Transport and Aviation, who read a speech from the Minister, Kabineh Kallon, said the state has already put together a safe fund project to address some of the country’s safety deficiencies.
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