TRAINING TRAINING TRAINING
Never underestimate the value of a thorough training department. If most airlines in Africa had Ryanair/Easyjet type training departments then their problems will be solved in a couple of years. You might need to recruit expat TRI/TREs but for maybe a maximum of 1 year.
I flown in expat heavy companies and the biggest problem is that most (75%) are not who they claim to be. Lots of padded CVs flying around Africa. Cadet program which offer a good background and then fasttrack command upgrade programs are what we need and nobody will need expats. The other problem is braindrain, when expats leave they leave with company assets (knowledge). A lot of guys are quick to point out how much of a sh1thole Africa is but numerous management personel in major airlines built there foundations in this sh1thole.
The onus is on the Local flights ops management personnel to be more strategic in their thinking.