At the start of 2014 Mr. Raymond Benjamin the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization – ICAO visited Tanzania and reassured Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority that his organization was devoted to make sure that security plus safety of air transport is boosted across Tanzania.
Prof. Mwandosya the minister without portfolio mentioned that You have a lot of work to carry out to make sure that the aviation sector thrives and it contributes effectively to the economy of the country and promote security in air transport.
He explained that prior to the crumbling of the East African Community – EAC in the mid-1970s, the country was leading in the Community through obtaining tremendous amounts of revenue from the aviation industry.
These remarks were made on Tuesday by the minister while in the capital city Dar es Salaam following his one day visit to the offices of TCAA where he had talks with a number of employees about the achievements and the issues of the authority throughout the last Ten years.
Dr. James Diu Director of Economic Regulation Division TCAA said that they listed a number of achievements including the recruitment as well as training of the local pilots.
He said that Tanzania possesses 239 local pilots, of which 17 are women.
He applauded the government for training the aircraft engineers plus pilots. in addition he said that during the 2014 – 15 financial year, the Tanzania government will sponsor a number of experts within the aviation business among which are pilots.
On the other hand, the doctor mentioned that some of the challenges faced by TCAA include frequent technological changes, bad condition of several airports as well as shortage of expert personnel.
Early, this year the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Secretary General, Mr Raymond Benjamin, visited the country and assured TCAA that his organization was determined to ensure that safety and security of air transport is enhanced in Tanzania.
“We are putting a lot of emphasis on the safety and security of air transport sector, these are our must, we are also looking for economic vibrant areas of aviation sector,” Mr Benjamin noted.
ICAO, which currently has 191 contracting states, is a specialized United Nations (UN) agency responsible for international civil aviation.
