asacrj,
You may disagree with the statement, but it happens to be true as has already been stated by MP:
... the International Civil Aviation Organisation has decreed that from 1 January 2008 all Air Traffic Controllers and Flight Crew Members engaged in or in contact with international flights must be proficient in the English language as a general spoken medium and not simply have a proficiency in standard ICAO Radio Telephony Phraseology.
Any members of Air Afrique now flying on international flights require to be certified as having command of English to level 4 or better.