Photo caption: Hon. Joseph Kofi Adda, Ghana’s Minister for Aviation
Ghana has obtained a provisional Effective Implementation (EI) rate of 89.89 percent after the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) concluded its Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) recently, in line with the United Nations aviation agency’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP).
The rating comes after a nine-day follow-up onsite activity by a four-member team of experts from ICAO to validate corrective measures undertaken by Ghana following a USOAP audit in the past.
Recognising this landmark achievement by the Republic of Ghana, Minister for Aviation, Hon. Joseph Kofi Adda, stresses the need for the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to immediately develop an action plan towards the implementation of corrective measures that have been recommended by the ICAO team.
The Minister further underscores that in line with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s vision of re-positioning Ghana as the sub-region’s Aviation hub, Parliament recently passed the Ghana Civil Aviation (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act 985) together with the Legislative Instrument on Aircraft Accident and Serious Incident Regulations,2019 (LI 2375) to ensure enhanced compliance with ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).
Mr. Simon Allotey, Director-General of GCAA, notes that “this enviable milestone is a reflection of the robustness of our safety oversight system which ultimately translates into improved safety of airline operations,” adding: “By adhering to ICAO’s SARPs related to safety oversight, GCAA effectively ensures that aviation service providers and airline operators maintain an acceptable level of operational safety.”
He states: “Our performance of 89.89% is world-class and places Ghana at the top spot in Africa in terms of safety oversight, considering that the average EI rate on the continent stands at 52 percent, which is lower than the global average of 66.5 percent and below ICAO’s current minimum target of 60 percent.”