DCA, AIR NAM, AGAIN!!!
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Windhoek
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
DCA, AIR NAM, AGAIN!!!
THE DARK SIDE OF AVIATION IN NAMIBIA
WE ARE Namibian pilots who preferred to remain anonymous but we would like to use the Namibian as our platform to point out the dark side of the Namibian aviation authority (DCA – Department of Civil Aviation in the Ministry of Works and Transport) and the monopoly operations of some charter companies and our main concern air Namibia.
We blame Government for failing to stop the monopoly that a few people seem to have in the aviation industry. It’s been 22 years into the country’s independence, but there are hardly any black Namibians who have climbed the ladder to the top in this sector and to top it off we are paying the price at the cost of South African white pilots who are mostly preferred for employment by Namibian charter companies and the Europeans who seem to run the show at Air Namibia.
The initiative undertaken by the DCA to offer bursaries to previously disadvantaged Namibians wishing to pursue a career in the industry has failed to yield the desired results. The initiative clearly seems to be a slap in the face to those who where interested or was basically to blindfold those who thought the DCA was doing little to help the problem.
The bursary programme is there to alleviate the shortage of Namibian pilots. Yet, this is one of the most failed initiatives of the government since independence. We accuse the bursary selection board of failing to deliver on time, and when you question the staff at DCA about the progress, each person has a finger to point at the other.
At Air Namibia the Affirmative Action Policy seems to be short of patriotism as all jobs are ‘hijacked’ by European and South African pilots. Nothing is being done about this issue. At the cost of the Namibian taxpayers, the government is simply pumping in millions of dollars to enrich foreigners, who can even afford to live in luxurious hotels for their stay in this country.
We call on Cabinet to look into the matter closely. It surely looks like they are unaware of what’s happening in the aviation sector.
It is embarrassing that 22 years down the line we have a very small number of Namibians flying the A340, A319 or the Boeing. The government has failed to take the initiative and empower Namibian pilots to be in position to fly such aircraft.
We criticise the government for not monitoring the implementation of its policies aimed at improving Air Namibia and empowering Namibians in the air-transport industry.
The airline is also to blame for not having a clear career path for Namibian pilots. Some of the Namibians who have gone through the first stages of pilot training have remained stagnant because they have no option but to sit back and watch their foreign counterparts fly their national carrier. We also criticise the lack of a Namibian cadet training initiative, as is the case in South African Airways, Kenya etc. Under such a programme, young people with potential are identified and trained to become pilots free of charge whiles assuring them a job in the airliner when they complete their training.
In conclusion we would like the President and his Cabinet to enquire from the Minister of Transport, the Director of Civil Aviation and the newly appointed CEO of Air Namibia to clarify these matters.
Please go ahead and do your research on the matter and try find out what can be done. What we trying here is to make the public aware of what’s really happening in our Namibian skies.
Namibian pilots
Via the website
WE ARE Namibian pilots who preferred to remain anonymous but we would like to use the Namibian as our platform to point out the dark side of the Namibian aviation authority (DCA – Department of Civil Aviation in the Ministry of Works and Transport) and the monopoly operations of some charter companies and our main concern air Namibia.
We blame Government for failing to stop the monopoly that a few people seem to have in the aviation industry. It’s been 22 years into the country’s independence, but there are hardly any black Namibians who have climbed the ladder to the top in this sector and to top it off we are paying the price at the cost of South African white pilots who are mostly preferred for employment by Namibian charter companies and the Europeans who seem to run the show at Air Namibia.
The initiative undertaken by the DCA to offer bursaries to previously disadvantaged Namibians wishing to pursue a career in the industry has failed to yield the desired results. The initiative clearly seems to be a slap in the face to those who where interested or was basically to blindfold those who thought the DCA was doing little to help the problem.
The bursary programme is there to alleviate the shortage of Namibian pilots. Yet, this is one of the most failed initiatives of the government since independence. We accuse the bursary selection board of failing to deliver on time, and when you question the staff at DCA about the progress, each person has a finger to point at the other.
At Air Namibia the Affirmative Action Policy seems to be short of patriotism as all jobs are ‘hijacked’ by European and South African pilots. Nothing is being done about this issue. At the cost of the Namibian taxpayers, the government is simply pumping in millions of dollars to enrich foreigners, who can even afford to live in luxurious hotels for their stay in this country.
We call on Cabinet to look into the matter closely. It surely looks like they are unaware of what’s happening in the aviation sector.
It is embarrassing that 22 years down the line we have a very small number of Namibians flying the A340, A319 or the Boeing. The government has failed to take the initiative and empower Namibian pilots to be in position to fly such aircraft.
We criticise the government for not monitoring the implementation of its policies aimed at improving Air Namibia and empowering Namibians in the air-transport industry.
The airline is also to blame for not having a clear career path for Namibian pilots. Some of the Namibians who have gone through the first stages of pilot training have remained stagnant because they have no option but to sit back and watch their foreign counterparts fly their national carrier. We also criticise the lack of a Namibian cadet training initiative, as is the case in South African Airways, Kenya etc. Under such a programme, young people with potential are identified and trained to become pilots free of charge whiles assuring them a job in the airliner when they complete their training.
In conclusion we would like the President and his Cabinet to enquire from the Minister of Transport, the Director of Civil Aviation and the newly appointed CEO of Air Namibia to clarify these matters.
Please go ahead and do your research on the matter and try find out what can be done. What we trying here is to make the public aware of what’s really happening in our Namibian skies.
Namibian pilots
Via the website
Está servira para distraerle.
In the same issue of The Namibian as the quoted letter above, there's an article about the recent defeat of the Namibian Warriors football team by the visiting Liberian Lone Star team.
the Namibian: Top Stories
This defeat is attributed by the newspaper to bad luck, inexperience and a poor referee.
'“That referee was poor in his performance. Because of this referee we lost the game. '
The Namibian government doesn't come in for a kicking anywhere in the article nor, amongst the excuses for failure, is it conceded that the Liberian team might have been the better one although certainly some of the apparently quite considerable failures of the local team are highlighted in the article.
So next year's potential shot at the Africa Cup of Nations is a non starter for Namibia this year. Perhaps some of the blame for this could be laid at the feet of SWAPO themselves? Had the government empowered their own football team perhaps it would have beaten the foreigners who, in any event, as was pointed out in the article, been noted in the past for their frailty on the road.
Perhaps the government is unaware of what is happening in the football field.
the Namibian: Top Stories
This defeat is attributed by the newspaper to bad luck, inexperience and a poor referee.
'“That referee was poor in his performance. Because of this referee we lost the game. '
The Namibian government doesn't come in for a kicking anywhere in the article nor, amongst the excuses for failure, is it conceded that the Liberian team might have been the better one although certainly some of the apparently quite considerable failures of the local team are highlighted in the article.
So next year's potential shot at the Africa Cup of Nations is a non starter for Namibia this year. Perhaps some of the blame for this could be laid at the feet of SWAPO themselves? Had the government empowered their own football team perhaps it would have beaten the foreigners who, in any event, as was pointed out in the article, been noted in the past for their frailty on the road.
Perhaps the government is unaware of what is happening in the football field.
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Canada
Age: 37
Posts: 630
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Interesting.
I'd like to ask a few questions.
If the bursary system failed, who's fault is it really? The DCA front up with the money? If so, then why have they failed? Why has the blame not fallen on those who have failed to achieve the desired results?
You are dreaming if you think that a company such as Air Namibia can afford simulators and training costs associated with training pilots from scratch to sit in the right hand seat of a Airbus.
I also don't believe in putting these huge safety nets for pilots who have a sense of entitlement. It produces average pilots of average skills who do enough to get by.
Guys that who have to work hard to get to where they are, usually have a strong work ethic and have put in the hard yards in their training.
What I say next does not apply to all of the guys coming through. There is some really good guys and I have appreciated the time that I spent working with them, however, for the majority...
There is a lack of respect between Namibians and the "European" operators.
"Give me a job, and with a fast upgrade and I am only here until Air Namibia hires me anyway" sets up a very dangerous safety culture with the company.
The guys have no respect for the chief pilot or what they tell them, planes are usually treated with disrespect, and the guys don't care if they mess up because they know if they get fired, that they will get labour involved and end up getting a nice settlement.
Nevermind the economic costs to the operators with the cost of training, having planes short of crews when guys leave, and good luck in trying to recover a bond.
We had guys showing up saying "I will work for you, but only on the Caravan."
Oh, ok, and tell me how a turbine works again? Met with a blank stare.
A humble local guy with a good attitude and knows his stuff, will always be hired over an expat. There is no waiting around and can go straight into working. The average wait time for a permit can be anywhere between a month right up to 3 months. It makes economic sense to hire a guy who can go straight onto the plane and be checked to the line within a month.
I'd like to ask a few questions.
If the bursary system failed, who's fault is it really? The DCA front up with the money? If so, then why have they failed? Why has the blame not fallen on those who have failed to achieve the desired results?
You are dreaming if you think that a company such as Air Namibia can afford simulators and training costs associated with training pilots from scratch to sit in the right hand seat of a Airbus.
I also don't believe in putting these huge safety nets for pilots who have a sense of entitlement. It produces average pilots of average skills who do enough to get by.
Guys that who have to work hard to get to where they are, usually have a strong work ethic and have put in the hard yards in their training.
What I say next does not apply to all of the guys coming through. There is some really good guys and I have appreciated the time that I spent working with them, however, for the majority...
There is a lack of respect between Namibians and the "European" operators.
"Give me a job, and with a fast upgrade and I am only here until Air Namibia hires me anyway" sets up a very dangerous safety culture with the company.
The guys have no respect for the chief pilot or what they tell them, planes are usually treated with disrespect, and the guys don't care if they mess up because they know if they get fired, that they will get labour involved and end up getting a nice settlement.
Nevermind the economic costs to the operators with the cost of training, having planes short of crews when guys leave, and good luck in trying to recover a bond.
We had guys showing up saying "I will work for you, but only on the Caravan."
Oh, ok, and tell me how a turbine works again? Met with a blank stare.
A humble local guy with a good attitude and knows his stuff, will always be hired over an expat. There is no waiting around and can go straight into working. The average wait time for a permit can be anywhere between a month right up to 3 months. It makes economic sense to hire a guy who can go straight onto the plane and be checked to the line within a month.
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Here and there...
Age: 58
Posts: 854
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
lilflyboy262...2,
It's probably the fault of all the whiteys from Europe and SA that the bursary system failed to get going.
It can't possibly be because the locals have not been given sufficient incentives and tools to make a go of it.
Another verse in a recurring chorus....................
It's probably the fault of all the whiteys from Europe and SA that the bursary system failed to get going.
It can't possibly be because the locals have not been given sufficient incentives and tools to make a go of it.
Another verse in a recurring chorus....................
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: ...at the sharp end...
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh shame ...
...and there we go again. Us poor namibians beeing disadvantaged again ... r2flyboi get off that bandwagon, it is getting boring. Cut to the chase, is it a black and white topic again?
I can assure you that (nearly) everybody in the industry at this stage deserves where he/she is right now, simply because of the hard work they put in.
The ones that got their position simply because they have the right skin color or an uncle/father/cousin/boyfriend etc in the right positions are recognisable by the failure of their company or their positions. You mentioned Air Namibia...
...and there we go again. Us poor namibians beeing disadvantaged again ... r2flyboi get off that bandwagon, it is getting boring. Cut to the chase, is it a black and white topic again?
I can assure you that (nearly) everybody in the industry at this stage deserves where he/she is right now, simply because of the hard work they put in.
The ones that got their position simply because they have the right skin color or an uncle/father/cousin/boyfriend etc in the right positions are recognisable by the failure of their company or their positions. You mentioned Air Namibia...
