Issue 11 | ...Celebrating the world’s richest continent | http://www.nomadafricamag.com | 73the YD, have on a bilateral basis imple-
mented the YD and liberalised their mar-
kets bilaterally. Delays to the full
implementation on the YD (on a conti-
nental wide basis) can probably be attrib-
uted to reluctance of some states to
implement and for some or other reason,
advising they are not ready. Regional or
internal conflict could also impact a state's
readiness to be part of this initiative as
they look to rebuild their country and
their aviation industry after resolution of
the conflict.”
“In addition, setting up the institutional
arrangements, e.g. the Executing Agency,
and finalising Competition Rules and Reg-
ulations, a Dispute Resolution mecha-
nism, a Joint Competition Authority. An
Executing Agency or similar body needs
to be established to implement and mon-
itor the implementation of SAATM. All
states that have made the solemn com -
mitment need to be on the same page
and have the buy-in of their airlines to
make this successful. In my view, the
ground rules ensuring fair reciprocity
both in terms of rights and value oppor-
tunities need to be agreed on between all
participants.”
There is resistance in some quarters, no-
tably Ugandan president Yoweri Musevini
who expressed fear that SAATM will lead
to the supremacy of African skies by a
few, already dominant African airlines.
“Few airlines are going to dominate and
that is not good,” Museveni said. He said
he would prefer that African countriesform regional airlines first before liberal-
ising their skies.
Looking at West Africa, although Nigeria
is a signatory to SAATM, the Airline Op-
erators of Nigeria (AON) has resisted
charging that they (AON) were not in-
cluded by their own government minis-
ters in the discussions leading to the
endorsement of the implementation of
the policy. During a sensitisation work-Most African countries do
not have enough financial
resources to capitalise their
airlines (mostly owned by government)
to enable them to effectively compete.
In my speculation, countries want to
subscribe to SAATM after improving
their airlines, hence the delay.”- Thabiso Leshoai,
Air Botswana Spokesperson
“SAATM will lead to the supremacy of African skies by
a few, already dominant African airlines. Few airlines are
going to dominate and that is not good. I would prefer that
African countries form regional airlines first before
liberalising their skies.”- Yoweri Musevini, Ugandan President