The 19th Meeting of the East African Community (EAC) Sectoral Council on Transport, Communications and Meteorology is currently underway in Mombasa, Kenya with the liberalisation of the Upper Airspace and reduction of air fares in the region high on the agenda.

Also on the agenda of the five-day meeting are the consideration of the status of regional programmes and projects under the railways, roads, maritime, communications and meteorology sub-sectors.

Speaking during the opening session of the meeting, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of the Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors, Hon. Andrea Aguer Ariik Malueth, said that the move by the Community towards a seamless airspace is a significant step with the completion of Phase one, which will enable inter-operability of the air navigation systems in the region.

Partner States are already in agreement to operationalise the EAC Upper Airspace Seamless operations to enable inter-operability of their upper air navigation systems.  

The Upper Air Space is that space above Flight Level (FL) 245 (24,500 feet). Article 92 (3e) of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC states that Partner States shall “establish a Unified Upper Area Control system.’

Liberalisation of air transport services within the region means that nationally registered carriers will be allowed to operate freely within the EAC region.  

Hon. Ariik, who represented EAC Secretary Hon. General Veronica Nduva at the meeting, urged Partner States to move with speed to complete the remaining phases to ensure the full liberalisation of the air transport sector in the region.

“We commend Partner States for continuing with the improvements to the airports infrastructure and note that several projects are either planned or ongoing. These include international airports at Hoima, Dodoma, Bugesera, Melchior Ndadaye, Juba and N’djili. We particularly congratulate South Sudan for developing their Civil Aviation Act which now awaits Cabinet approval,” said Hon. Ariik.

“The region is also making progress towards reducing air fares and countries continue to present their views on this issue, which we hope to conclude soon.  Related to this, the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) being promoted at the African Union level will further ensure that air travel within the continent is made easier,” he added.

The DSG, however, said that so far, only three countries in our region have joined the SAATM and urged the remaining countries to expedite the process of joining this important facility.

On maritime transport, Hon. Ariik said that whereas sea maritime transport is doing very well, the region’s inland waterways are only minimally being utilised.

“This has resulted in a lot of pressure on our road transportation systems, yet maritime transport is far more efficient, cost effective and climate friendly. However, apart from lack of sufficient investment in the equipment, a lot needs to be done to improve maritime safety,” said the DSG.

Hon. Ariik commended the Partner States for their relentless push to actualise the East African Railways Network connected through the standard gauge railway and hailed the United Republic of Tanzania for the recent launch of services between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma.

The DSG said that to achieve seamless connectivity of the railway system, Partner States need to build synergy in resource mobilisation to ensure there are no gaps that would render the programme ineffective.

“Concurrently, efforts must also be put in the development of an inter-modal transport system, in particular maritime transport, to support the SGR programme. In this regard, the need for a regional maritime transport policy and strategy become pertinent,” he said, adding that the Sectoral Council will discuss these matters in detail.

On the communications sector, DSG Ariik informed the meeting that the Republic of Burundi and the United Republic of Tanzania have since joined the EAC One Network Area, signalling a new era in the region’s push towards the digital economy.

“We urge the other countries to onboard the two new members in order to make the roaming framework fully effective. Countries are also called upon to support the Eastern Africa Regional Digital Integration Project, which aims to advance digital market integration in the Eastern Africa region by increasing affordable access to regional broadband connectivity and strengthening the enabling environment for cross-border digital services,” said Hon. Ariik.

“We need to remove barriers to regional telecoms infrastructure and services and expand access to connectivity if our region is to remain competitive in the global arena,” he added.

On meteorology, Hon. Ariik said that there is urgent need for the region to appropriately equip itself with automatic weather stations and to adopt quality management systems, the ISO 9001:2015 for Aeronautical Meteorological Services, in order to cope with climate change and improve safety of air transport.

“The modernisation of meteorological services also depends on the institutional frameworks and currently, only three countries have autonomous agencies responsible for meteorological and hydrological services. It is important that the region moves as one in this respect,” he said.

Hon. Ariik disclosed that the participation of Partner States in the programmes of the International Civil Aviation Organization is poor. As an example, the volcanic ash exercises prepare the region for events such as happened in Iceland some years back when the entire airspace in the Northern Hemisphere was covered in volcanic ash.

The Session of Senior Officials which runs from Monday, 21st – Wednesday, 23rd October, 2024 is being chaired by Captain Subek David Dada, the CEO of the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority. The Session of Senior Officials will be followed by the Coordination Committee that consists of Principal/Permanent/Under Secretaries on Thursday, 24th October, 2024 and the Ministerial Session on Friday, 25th October, 2024.