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FRESH TROUBLES HIT
AVIATION SECTOR ....AIR
TRAFFIC ENGINEERS THREATEN TO GO ON STRIKE
JUST AS PROBE OF $61.65 MILLION WORLD BANK
LOANS LOOMS Sunday, February
21, 2009 |
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newsdiaryonline.com |
Local and international airlines operating in the
country's airspace have been warned not to fly into
the country as members of the National Association
of Air Traffic Engineers (NAAE) have planned to
withdraw its services from the airports to protest
disparity in allowances.
Speaking with aviation correspondents in Lagos
Sunday the General Secretary of NAAE Bulus Utung
Bodam warned that all services to CNS equipment, ILS,
Navigational Aids, Surveillance and power to Radio
Communications will be withdrawn with effect from
Thursday, 26 February 2009 when the one week
ultimatum given to the management of the airspace
will expire.
NAAE members who are protesting the increase in the
allowances of the air traffic controllers have
argued that it was unacceptable to regard one
profession more important than the order in the same
working
environment.
"We have given the government a seven day ultimatum
to invite us for dialogue and respond to our request
which we submitted to them, if not we will have no
option than to withdraw the services that we render
i.e. communication, navigation and radar services
that the association is providing. We are all on
alert, all the stations particularly the major
airports and as soon as we have directives from our
union, we
will down tool all communication services and others
in the Nigeria" Bodam warned.
Bodam said the action was a provoked disparity and
injustice that brought about their intention to
embark on strike which will only be avoidable if
government will listen to them.
While acknowledging the efforts of the new minister
of aviationBabatunde Omotoba for steps taking so far
to reposition the sector and welcoming the new
management. NAAE said the struggle will have to
continue until the injustice was addressed.
Bodam explained that the recent increment of the
allowances of the controllers has negatively
affected the morale and psychological position of
their job noting that without a stable mind there
was no
way the issue of safety in the aviation industry can
be guaranteed when their counterparts earn more
them.
"When someone knows that his counterparts that
operate and exist by the virtue of the service we
provide technically and yet he earns that so much
even in comparison to what we are taking. Our
members are
already mentally disturbed"
Bodam while describing the action as unfortunate as
no aircraft will fly during the period their
services will be withdrawn called for the
intervention of all well meaning Nigerians to avoid
the nation of the
disgrace.
NAAE scribe explained that the association has an
approval from government for a scheme of service
which has not been implemented by the management of
NAMA.
He said the association as a result of their back
ground, national interest and patriotism waited for
government to address the issue but the official
ineptitude has brought about low morale in
staff.
"When you talk of safety one department in NAMA can
not provide the safety that is required in the
aviation industry. This has provoked the entire
members of NAAE to the extent for the first time in
the
history of the association we are provoked to take
this industrial decision that we have gone into"
According to Bodam, air traffic engineers were
committed to safety with high regards being the
watchword of their profession but lamented on the
obsolete equipment without spares as a result of non
production
by manufacturing companies while the available parts
in use have been described as redundancy in the
system.
NAAE explained that they have already called on the
government to declare the aviation sector 'safety
critical'by replacing all obsolete equipmen
In another development ,just the dusts raised by the
probe into the N19.5 billion Aviation Intervention
fund is yet to settle down, fresh facts have emerged
that yet another mind boggling probe will soon be
conducted into the use of $61.65 million loans by
the aviation sector yet again during the Obasanjo
regime.The two chambers of the National Assembly are
examining the need for an all embracing
investigation into two separate World Bank loans
granted to the country’s aviation
industry in 2006.
The loans to be probed are of two different
components.The first part of the loans amounted to
$46.65 million and it was said to be Nigeria ’s
share of the World
Bank’s facility called West and Central Africa Air
Transport and Security Project
(WCAATSSP).
There was also as second loan of $15 million secured
by by the Federal Government and given
to some of its agencies in the aviation sector to
upgrade their facilities and boost
their operations.
It was learnt at the weekend that House Committee on
International Donors and Civil Societies is seeking
answers about how the funds were utilized .A
document submitted to the committees in respect of
the loan and made available to
journalists at the National Assembly explained how
the loans were secured as well as
what has been spent out of it so far.
Highlights of the document noted that, “One
component of the Aviation World Bank Project is the
West and Central Africa Air
Transport Safety and Security Project (WCAATSSP).
This component which is also a
credit has a total sum of $46.65 million which the
government of Nigeria joined
under the Phase 2 of the World Bank Regional Air
Transport Programme on Security and
Safety aspects. Nigeria requested to join the
programme in November, 2006 after the
three fatal air incidents. Some specific projects
were outlined for execution under
this program for the four of the ministry’s
parastatals. The breakdown of the
allocation is as follows:
*Federal Airpots Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)
=======$13.70 MILLION
*Nigeria Airports Management Agency (NAMA) ====$9.40
MILLION
*Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)
========$11.00 million
*Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT)
====$10.00 million
*Unallocated ==============================$2.55
million”
On the $15 million loan, the document said :
“This is a credit that was taken by the Federal
Government towards its Economic
Reform and Governance Project. The sum of $15
million dollars was allocated to the
ministry of aviation after the three fatal the three
fatal air crashes that befell
the country in 2005 and 2006 through the ministry of
Finance who manages the entire
ERGP program. For over two years after the ministry
was allocated that amount, it
could not implement the project when it was
domiciled in the Federal Airport
Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). That was why the
execution of the project was
transferred from the then Project Execution Team
(PET) to the ministry’s World Bank
Project Coordinating Unit (PCU) in 2007.
The funds were reportedly allocated to finance
specific projects of four parastatals in the
aviation sector thus:
*Institutional assessment and diagnostic audit of
aviation industry including
detailed organizational review of aviation
parastatals;
*Development of an aviation restructuring and
capacity development plan for FAAN and
NAMA;
*Development of a frame work for autonomous
regulation of aviation in Nigeria and
development of business and financial model and
guidelines for NCAA including
initial restructuring of NCAA
*Construction of perimeter fence and patrol road
with solar lighting around the
operational areas of port Harcourt and Abuja
international Airport.
As for the issue of the perimeter fencing, the World
Bank has just issued its “No Objection” for the
award of of the contracts for both Abuja and Port
Harcourt international airports at
the sum of $6.2 million and $5.026 million
respectively under the World Bank’s
procurement procedures and guidelines.”
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