Burundi hosts the 5th EAC Civil Aviation Symposium.
The Briefing Issue #47, Thursday, February 27, 2020
Dear Readers,
Dr. Joseph Butore, the 2nd Vice-President of Burundi, chaired this Thursday, the opening ceremonies of the 5th EAC Civil Aviation Symposium which took place at Club du Lac Tanganyika Hotel, in Bujumbura. The theme of the symposium is “Evolving with Dynamic Technological Transformation – The Case of Aviation Safety and Security.”
For this 5th Edition, the EAC Aviation Symposium celebrates the Growth and Development of Aviation in the region. The event brought together aviation experts particularly young professionals, Manufacturers, operators, regulators, and other aviation stakeholders to discuss issues relating to Aviation Safety & Security.
Among talking points in this two days symposium organized by the East Africa Community Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA) are:
the legal challenges arising from Technological dynamism in Aviation,
and the Status of implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market
The EAC Aviation Symposium last convened on 1st – 2nd February 2018, was established by the CASSOA Board as a means of raising awareness on issues affecting Aviation Safety & Security globally and specifically the EAC Region. Each year the CASSOA Board agrees upon a theme for the Symposium on the basis of issues of concern to the Aviation Industry.
CASSOA is an East Africa Community agency created from Article 92 of the EAC Treaty which in summary states that the Partner States shall undertake to make air transport services safe, efficient and profitable; adopt common policies for the development of civil air transport in the region; harmonize civil aviation rules and regulations and coordinate measures and co-operate in the maintenance of high security.
The aviation sector in Burundi
The aviation industry in Burundi is managed by the civil aviation authority of Burundi and regulated by the ministry of transport and telecommunications.
Burundi is a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It has ratified the Chicago Convention and by doing so Burundi is committed to ensuring safe civil aviation by following the rules and regulations as laid down in the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs)of the ICAO. Moreover, as a member of the EAC, it is also committed to improving safety and other standards to the levels required of EAC member countries.
The Burundi Aviation sector depends on several international airlines for services, such as Kenya Airways, SN Brussels Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, and Rwandair.
Air Burundi was the state-owned national airline of Burundi since 1975, it has not been operational since 2009. At its peak, the airline operated scheduled regional passenger services to Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda
In August 2011, East African media reported that Air Burundi had started a process of restructuring. Six international companies had already been pre-selected, through competitive bidding, to propose a restructuring process. Plans were apparently underway to either lease or acquire new aircraft to facilitate the resumption of flight operations.
In January 2013 it was reported that the privatization of Air Burundi had in part been delayed by the carrier's 90% shareholding in SOBUGEA (Société Burundaise de Gestion Aéroportuaire), the country's airport management company. Staff there argued that the Privatization bill introduced by the government contained many irregularities.
Air transport is of strategic importance to Burundi as it guarantees an alternative gateway to the rest of the world. It provides the most efficient and quickest transport means to and from Burundi.
Fabrice Iranzi,
Founding Editor, RegionWeek.com
Notes &Ressources
https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Project-and-Operations/An%20Infrastructure%20Action%20Plan%20for%20Burundi%20-%20Main%20Report%20v1.2.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Burundi
https://centreforaviation.com/data/profiles/airports/bujumbura-international-airport-bjm
http://www.cassoa.org/cassoa/?page_id=598
IN THE REGION
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A Harvard University student is seeking Shs6 billion as damages for allegedly being blocked by President Museveni on his Twitter handle. Mr. Museveni was sued alongside government spokesperson, Mr. Ofwono Opondo and the police’s Chief Political Commissar, AIGP Asan Kasingye whom he also accuses of blocking him from accessing their Twitter accounts. High Court presided over by Justice Andrew Bashaija on Thursday heard that Mr. Hillary Innocent Seguya Taylor pursuing a Masters in International Relations degree at the Harvard University in the United States of America (USA) has suffered mental anguish to which he seeks general damages for being inconvenienced as he does not know what is going on with his leaders. (Daily Monitor)
A data center hosting both government and private sector servers in Rwanda has been brought down after being hacked. The February 18 attack rendered the facility incapable of receiving incoming traffic for hours, according to reports from the local Rwandan news site, Taarifa. Most government websites immediately went down, including the President’s website, and that of the state’s army. No further information has been released regarding the incident so it is hard to piece together what actually happened. (Data Center Dynamics)
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