Transport department reviews agreements

‘In a nutshell it means open skies for Africa’
ALAN PEAT
THE DEPARTMENT of Transport is doing its best to sort out the matter of bilaterals, air transport officer Bella Sithole told FTW.
“In Africa,” she said, “we want to review all the agreements till they align with the Yamoussoukro Decision.
“In a nutshell, that means opening up the skies in the African states.”
This, Sithole added, had already been conducted with Kenya, Ghana and Ethiopia – and open skies, with no royalty payments, are the order of the day with those countries.
The department is also entering into agreements with the European Union (EU) – with the intention being to liberalise the rules.
“But we have to conduct bi-laterals with each of the EU states individually,” said Sithole, “and expect to be meeting with some of them – like the UK, France and Switzerland – before July.
“We are also still negotiating with other African countries. The airlines have raised the issue of Madagascar, so we think we will also be meeting with them this year.”
But the department is still consulting with the stakeholders, according to Sithole, and this year’s programme has not yet been finalised.