AOOA Membership Newsletter Brief August 2021
It seems this year has flown by, albeit with not so much of the flying, as our warm dry season finally gets going, polling day is almost upon us, and the rainy season is (hopefully) just around the corner.
We successfully held our AGM some 5 months ago now, and our Executive Committee has been grappling with a formidable agenda as we continue our efforts to promote Zambian aviation. Among the many activities we have been engaged in are :
Promoting membership of the AOOA, including Introduction of a “Certificate of Membership” for commercial aviation operators, and launching of our Youth Outreach and Aviation Mentorship programme;
Continued lobbying of Aviation Fuel suppliers for improved services and prices, and we have recently learned of progress in these regards among which we are hopeful that recent fuel price increases may be re-adjusted when our currently uncertain economic environment settles down;
Continued lobbying of ZACL for more reasonable Aviation Fee structures, out of which we have received assurances that these are being introduced in response to our concerns;
Continued interactions with the CAA regarding implementation of our Agenda 2021 items tabled with the CAA’s Director-General, although largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic we have yet to meet substantively with the Authority to push the agreed items forward as envisaged;
Continued participation with the ASSP II Programme funded by the EU under our Ministry of Transport & Communications (MoT&C), including meeting with MoT&C officials and project consultants regarding challenges to the development of aviation in Zambia and tabling recommendations for meeting these challenges to be met constructively.
Allow me to request that, if you haven’t already done so, you look at renewing your AOOA membership for 2021 so that we can keep up our momentum and move from a position of strength into the next year.
Please take advantage of our growing membership facilities, website, Whatsapp group, Facebook and Twitter platforms to communicate with aviation communities, ask questions and share ideas and solutions. Join us and contribute to social events, including flying or “fly-in” events, aviation safety meetings and illustrated talks, when they resume, including advocacy meetings with our aviation sector partners.
Fellow aviators, however brilliant a pilot you think you are, keep your judgements finely tuned, fly safe and enjoy the clear blue skies of the waning cold dry season while you can, but be ready for the warm dry and hot rainy seasons as they approach with their associated hazards.
Finally, as we go into polling this week and move towards Q3 2021 we trust that the universal values of integrity, respect for one another and the rule of law will continue to prevail, and that the aviation sector will continue to contribute to the growth of Zambia’s social and economic development.
Richard Jeffery/AOOA President/AOOA Executive Committee.
Lusaka, August, 2021