Before the end of the year, a bill to tighten the current regulatory framework for civil aviation will be tabled in the National Assembly, junior Ministry of Public Infrastructure Annette Ferguson says.
Making her contribution to the 2015 Budget debate yesterday, Ferguson said that consultations on the bill will commence soon. She later told Stabroek News that the bill would seek to make critical changes to the current regulatory framework for civil aviation. She disclosed that the main aspect of the bill is formulated around security since the Act in its current form has “no provision to reflect the concept regarding security.”
The minister said that the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority’s (GCAA) legal department is currently drafting the bill and she expects to table it in the House before year-end.
In her contribution to the budget debate, Ferguson told the House that upon attaining office, it was observed that the sector was plagued by a number of issues including “poor management (and) lack of competent and technical personnel.”
According to the junior minister, Guyana is 44 percent compliant in the implementation of standards and recommended practices from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). She juxtaposed this to the regional average which she said, stands at above 70 percent.
Last year February, Ogle International Airport boss Anthony Mekdeci had said that Guyana’s aviation sector is 95% compliant with the requirements needed to attain a Category One status, which would see carriers from Guyana flying directly to the United States of America.
According to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in order to maintain a Category 1 rating, countries with air carriers that fly to the United States must adhere to the safety standards of the ICAO – the United Nations’ technical agency for aviation that establishes international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance.
According to Ferguson, the APNU+AFC government knows the importance of a Standard One rating from the FAA in the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme and will be working to attain this standard. She said that the ICAO had expressed their concern to the previous administration numerous times.
Ferguson said that the allocation for the aviation sector “will be put towards institutional strengthening to ensure a well-equipped GCCA… (is) able to carry out its mandates.” She added that emphasis will be placed on the area of flight operations as well as on recruiting qualified and competent personnel to realise the objectives of the GCCA.
