Radebe calls for action on open skies policy

Kenya and Ethiopia first off the starting blocks JOY ORLEK TRANSPORT MINISTER Jeff Radebe last week committed his department to speeding up implementation of a more liberal air services regime, particularly in Africa, a policy he sees as a prerequisite to trade growth in the region. Speaking at the official launch of MK Freight Systems (see page 4), Radebe said Cabinet had recently adopted an airfreight strategy aimed at opening air services, especially in Africa. “We have been talking of Yamoussoukro for many years, and in South Africa we are deeply committed to the effective implementation of the agreement. “How else can we unite Africa and ensure that there is economic integration when our air services regime is restrictive?” he said. “We are clear on the need to move with speed and we have already begun doing that. “There is virtually an open skies policy between ourselves and Kenya, and two months ago I had a meeting with my counterpart from Ethiopia where we initialled an air services regime that will virtually open skies between our two countries.” And this is just the start, according to Radebe, who is determined to see substantial growth in the airfreight sector. “South Africa moves 522 000 tons of freight per annum, and we believe this is not enough to push our GDP growth to more than 6% in line with the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) . “We believe that if we can create an airfreight strategy for South Africa that is conducive to expanding our economy, we can reach those goals.” Radebe projects airfreight growth of more than 35% in the next 20 years. “At the annual general meeting of Airports Company SA, a decision was taken to spend more than R8bn to expand and upgrade our major airports “R3.2bn will be spent on OR Tambo International, R1.3bn on Cape Town International and R2.5bn on a new airport at La Mercy. “The Department is deeply aware of the challenges facing the economy in view of government's growth objectives. Our role is to ensure that we deliver appropriate policies to support those objectives.”