Captain Mike Mukula has revealed the loopholes in Uganda’s aviation sector.
Appearing before the Parliament Committee of Physical Infrastructure on Tuesday to give his views on Civil Aviation Bill 2017, the former Health Minister said compared to the Aviation Authority of Kenya, Uganda’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is still lagging far behind. He claimed that CAA isn’t adhering to international standards.
“While Kenya has 11 board members who are highly experienced, we have only 7 members and none of them is related to the aviation sector. You can’t take plumbers to be board members of a hospital. They have to be experienced in line with the sector,” Mukula said.
He warned government against appointing officials unknowledgeable on aviation matters as board members of CAA, saying this will not lead to any development in the sector.
He called for the need to develop capacity in the aviation industry if the country is to benefit from the heavy investments in the sector.
Mukula said that although government is expanding the airport, building roads among others, these might not assist to boost the sector if the necessary capacity building is not undertaken.
He added that Uganda currently has only one inspector, whose capacities are limited and only one ambulance at the airport which he says is not enough to handle emergencies in case they occur.
He urged the Committee to make amendments to the Bill and set up an airports authority that will be in charge of the sector, with CAA playing the regulatory role.
