The Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) has called on the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to decouple Ghana’s air navigation service unit from the authority.
CANSO believes the move will ensure efficient cost-effective and customer – oriented air navigation services to airlines and other users.
According to CANSO, GCAA’s responsibility as both a regulator and services provider, acts as a constraint hence the need for the separation.
Speaking to Citi Business News at the sidelines of the ongoing CANSO Africa conference in Accra, Director – General of CANSO, Jeff Poole said the separation is needed to end conflict of interest which hinders the implementation of performance driven air navigation services.
“What we want is for air navigation service providers to be able to operate like normal businesses and be able to make their own investment decisions, improve performance and be much more customer focused to air space users then they have been in the past.”
Mr. Poole added that CANSO’s experience in other countries shows that when there is separation of the regulator from the service provider then that unlocks the values of providing a better service.
He further stated that the separation“is to make sure that the regulator is setting the requirement that ensures that they regulate the body that is providing the air navigation service.”
Meanwhile the Director – General of the GCAA, Simon Allottey has indicated to Citi Business News that Ghana has begun the process to decouple its air navigation services unit from the GCAA.
According to him, the authority hopes to complete the process of separation by June 2017.
“We are far advanced to further separate the air navigation units from the regulator. An in-house committee has been formed to look at the terms of reference which provides for two sustainable entities after separation. We don’t any of the entities to suffer financial or operational challenges after the separation.”
“In line with our board directive, we are targeting that by June next year the final decoupling report will be ready for endorsement by the ministry of transport with all other stakeholders including Parliament who will give the legal effect to the separated entity.”
This year’s CANSO conference is on the theme, “Ensuring Safe and Efficient Airspace – Separating Regulation from the Services Provision.
The conference will also focus on the separation between regulation and service provision, as well as on institutional change.
Participants will also focus on the key priorities for air traffic management in Africa which includes matching equipage with the Aviation System Block Upgrades; showing how sovereignty need not be a barrier to providing air traffic services across borders.
Others will be on improving efficiency through collaborative decision-making; and enhancing safety through implementing safety management systems, the SEANS-Safety programme and the Africa ANSP Safety Initiative.
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By: Norvan Acquah – Hayford/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana