Aviation and air transport leaders set to meet in Tanzania next week

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (eTN) – Aviation and air transport executives from various parts of the world, mostly from the African continent, will be meeting in Tanzania for the seventeenth edition of the annual Aviation and Allied Business Leadership Conference to open on Monday next week.

The three-day leadership conference being held from August 28 to 30, will see high-ranking aviation and air transport chief executive officers brainstorming and discuss key issues affecting air transport in Africa.

Lack of adequate investments in aviation and air transport industry, coupled with high tariffs and taxes charged by African governments, have so far crippled airline development in this continent, while reliable air link between African states remains poor.

Organizers of the conference said the gathering of key stakeholders from aviation and air transport transport would help and enlighten the players, including airline executives to share their experiences on best practices in the aviation industry.

“We are also going to deliberate ourselves, reasons which failed implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision,” said Monday Ukoha of the Landover Company, organizers of the conference.

Experience has shown that most of African airlines have failed to grow and expand, with some of them collapsing, as was the case of Tanzania’s national airline, Air Tanzania Company (ATC), which died due to poor investment and mismanagement. Most African airports are operating under their operational capacity, failing to cope with the current demand for both passengers and cargo services.

The high-ranking delegates to the conference will also discuss aviation safety, which is the major setback to foreign investments in African skies. Delegates will come up with a plan on the way forward that would enable meaningful and sustainable development of African aviation.

The conference is also slated to discuss the fate of the airline industry in Africa and the airports. African countries have failed to attract private sector investors to inject funds in national airlines and airports, leading to poor performance in aviation industry, aviation industry observers said.

Private sector involvement in air transport has been limited throughout Africa except in South Africa where Airports Company has been a shining example.

Over the years, the Aviation and Air Transport Leadership Conference has enjoyed the participation of government leaders such as the presidents and heads of governments of African States and several ministers responsible for air transport across the continent.

The Leadership Conference has also continued to attract attendance from the leadership of various international agencies and organizations in Africa including the African Union, Commission, African Civil Aviation Commission, African Airlines Association, Airports Council International-Africa, and the International Air Transport Association.

The sixteenth edition of the Leadership Conference, which was held at the Gaborone Intentional Convention Center, Gaborone, Botswana, in August 2010 was attended by Ministers from Africa, and more than 220 delegates from Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and North America.

The forthcoming Leadership Conference in Dar es Salaam bears the theme of “Air Transport In Africa: Strengthening Leadership, Sustaining Growth.”

A number of existing and emerging challenges still face the air transport industry in Africa. While the industry’s leadership is embracing development initiatives in various aspects, the industry now needs to collaboratively build up the critical mass to strengthen its leadership and create a sustainable growth trend.

Participation at the Leadership Conference with an expected attendance of more than 300 delegates from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America are drawn from airport organizations, airlines, civil aviation authorities, finance institutions, airframe and engine manufacturers, service providers to the industry, and multilateral agencies, among others.

High-ranking executives from the African aviation industry invited to speak include Mr. Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Airlines. He will discuss his presentation on “Management Stability and Leadership Succession Planning: Maximizing The Benefits.”

Mr. Tewolde will discuss major challenges facing airlines, as modern-day businesses is the issue of effective and sustainable leadership. Several airlines in Africa have gone under due to leadership crises, even though a few have demonstrated a strong leadership succession culture.

Essentially, a potent leadership succession plan is vital to enable airlines continue their business evolution and transformation and appropriately respond to market trends. Ethiopian Airlines is such a successful airline in Africa.

Other notable speakers are Mr. Michael Shirima, chairman of Tanzania’s leading and first established private run airline, Precision Air, and the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Alfonse Kioko.

Mr. Shirima is a trained Aircraft Performance Engineer, who worked with East African Airways (EAA) for 11 years until its closure in 1977. He founded aerial crop dusting company in 1986, which developed to passenger charter air service in 1994, growing gradually to a full-fledged regional airline, presently known as Precision Air. Mr. Kioko will discuss “Sustainable Airline Cooperation in Africa: Lessons from the Precision Air and Kenya Airways tie-up.”

Others personalities registered to participate and speak during the conference are the Hon. Collins Dauda, Minister for Transport of the Republic of Ghana; Stella Adaeze Oduah, Minister of Aviation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Dr. Elijah Chingosho, Secretary General, AFRAA; and Mr. Cuebah Guelpina President, AFCAC.

Senior aviation delegates also registered for the conference are Dr. Harold Demuren, Director General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority; Dr. Paul-Antoine Ganemtore, Project Director, Air Transport, Liberalization, ECOWAS; Mr. Vivendra Lochan, Chief Operating Officer, Airlines Association of Southern Africa; Mr. Miguel Santos, Director, International Sales, Boeing; Mr. Chamsou Andjorin, Executive Director, Boeing; Mr. P.E. Chilambe, CEO, Air Malawi; Alexander Manakos, Partner and Director Sales MEA – Lufthansa Consulting; Mr. Othman Chaoui, Market Strategy Manager, ATR; and Dr. Rama Makuza, MD CAA, Uganda.