WINDHOEK – Works and Transport Minister John Mutorwa says Cabinet is taking seriously the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recommendations to deal with deficiencies at Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA), specifically issues of passenger screening, congestion and safety.
His response followed yesterday’s enquiry by New Era on the progress made regarding the minor improvements ICAO required to be made at the airport following the latest amendments to international standards on safety.
Preliminary reports prepared by ICAO had given Namibia the thumbs up in the security audit conducted from November 19 to 28 last year.
Namibia became the first country in the world to be audited under the new ICAO standards, despite concerns that the country’s aviation status would be downgraded.
The report stated that out of 497 Protocol Questions (PQs) that were audited, 126 PQs were found to be satisfactory, which provided a 75 percent effective implementation rate for the audited area. This means ICAO did not detect any significant security concerns against the country.
But despite scoring an above average 72 percent per audit, the ICAO required that minor improvements be made in terms of the latest amendments to international standards.
Some of the improvements the Namibia Airports Company (NAC) needed to embark on include the screening of passengers, baggage and cargo improvement, providing certified screeners and that all airport operators implement internal quality control measures to ensure quality assurance of their operations.
In this regard, Mutorwa reported that a special committee chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has since been established to look into deficiencies and specifically deal with issues of passenger screening, congestion and safety.
According to him, various ministries are members of the committee, including safety and security, the intelligence service, public enterprises, among others.
Mutorwa confirmed three weeks ago that the committee had a meeting at the airport where feedback was given on the progress made thus far on the ICAO recommendations pertaining to last year’s audit.
“A report was given on what is being done. There is a company appointed to take forward the implementation of some of these issues. The police and immigration are working very closely with us. We are not saying all the problems are solved, but definitely we are working towards that,” Mutorwa said.
In addition, NAC has since last year been working on a Corrective Action Plan (CAP), using the preliminary report.
Mutorwa yesterday also revealed that next year Namibia is scheduled to undergo a universal safety oversight audit.
“I would like to believe and think that preparation for the mentioned 2020 universal safety oversight audit must be at an advanced stage already. There are only 83 days left before 2019 will recede and join those many years before it, in the memorable historical past. Truly speaking 2019 is almost already gone,” he said.
ICAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations. The organisation codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.