Online Reporter
Freeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
AN African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) delegation visiting Zimbabwe for the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) Pilot Implementation Project (PIP) Airshow on Thursday paid a courtesy call on Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Joshua Sacco ahead of Friday’s high-level meeting.
The delegation is led by AFCAC Director of Air Transport Mr Getwachew Mengistie Alemayehu and is in the country to participate in the SAATM Pilot Implementation Project Airshow, which seeks to accelerate the liberalisation of air transport across Africa.
Friday’s meeting will be held under the theme: “Acceleration of Air Transport Liberalisation in Africa to Improve Continental Connectivity and Integration.”
Deputy Minister Sacco was accompanied by Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) chairperson Mrs Nonkosi Ncube, director general Mr George Mashababe, CAAZ board members and Air Zimbabwe chief executive officer Mr Edmund Murambiwa Makona.
SAATM is a flagship African union initiative designed to liberalise intra-African air transport by removing market access restrictions and allowing airlines to exercise fifth-freedom traffic rights, enabling them to carry passengers and cargo between two foreign countries as part of services originating from or ending in their home country.
The aim of the project is to accelerate the implementation of the YD leading to the full and sustainable implementation of SAATM.
CAAZ said the Pilot Implementation Project involving as of now 24 States, was launched by 14 African Ministers of Transport/Aviation on November 14, 2022 during the 23rd Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) Day anniversary event in Dakar, Senegal.
“The goal is to improve 5th Freedom Traffic Operations across Africa from the current level of 23 percent (2025) to 30 percent by 2027. The 24 SAATM States are those States that have been identified with favourable environments and are willing to proceed with full SAATM implementation.
“They are Angola, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Congo, Cameroun, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Gabon, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo and Zambia. These States have been further divided into six different clusters for ease of implementation.”
According to CAAZ, the full implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) remains a critical enabler for the sustainable development of air transport in Africa and constitutes a cornerstone of the recovery and resilience strategy for the African aviation industry post COVID-19 era.
The report of the study on the Continental Benefits of SAATM implementation and Communication Strategy for SAATM Advocacy (2021) substantiates the idea that the full implementation of the YD will lead to substantial benefits in the African aviation sector and Africa as a whole.
The study projected that intra-Africa traffic volume will increase by 51 percent within two to three years, and all countries in the African union (AU) are expected to experience increases in traffic.
