The Guvnor
5th Jan 2001, 20:11
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Demise of Airline Deal 'Not Linked to DRC War'
The Namibian (Windhoek)
January 4, 2001
By Max Hamata
Windhoek
Foreign Affairs Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab has played down claims that the agreement between Air Namibia and Uganda Airlines to
operate joint flights to the Gulf, Johannesburg and Entebbe has been discontinued due to "DRC regional war politics".
The Minister told The Namibian that although Uganda and Rwanda stand accused of invading the Democratic Republic of Congo, of
which Namibia is an ally, "we maintain diplomatic relations with both countries. We recognise each other's diplomatic status." He
said Namibian or Ugandan businesses may engage in trade activities with one another.
A source from Uganda Airlines maintained that the agreement, which would have helped highly indebted Air Namibia ease its financial
problems, has been put on ice, pending the outcome of the current peace initiatives to end the DRC war.
The source told The Namibian "Ugandan political bureaucracy" had instructed the Ugandan airline to freeze the agreement, as
Namibia and Uganda are belligerents in the DRC war.
The conflict pits Uganda, Rwanda and several rebel factions against the DRC government of Laurent Kabila, whose ragtag army is
backed by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Speaking from Kampala, Uganda Airlines Co-ordinator Jennifer Musiimi said in an interview the suspension of the agreement "was a
great disappointment to us. It was good for Air Namibia as well because it helps to facilitate trade and the movement of people
between the two countries."
She said the agreement was in line with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa's aim of promoting trade within the
region. "We are still pursuing government approval to continue the joint agreement. There are certain problems the government is
busy sorting out, which may take time. It will possibly take three months for government to sort out those problems and hopefully by
the next traffic season the agreement will be put in force." Musiimi was not willing to comment on the reasons which prompted the
"political bureaucracy" to apply the brakes on the joint flight agreement.
Michael Opagi, the Director for Privatisation in the Ugandan Ministry of Finance, told The Namibian that DRC war politics had nothing
to do with the freezing of the joint flight agreement.
"It had nothing to do with that." He claimed any decision to continue the Air Namibia-Uganda Airlines agreement was going to be
discussed within the context of a Cabinet decision to close down the Ugandan airline.
Air Namibia Managing Director Jafaar Ahmed was reluctant to discuss the postponement of the agreement which could have helped
alleviate the financial problems of the airline, which showed an operational loss of more than N$70 million for the first six months last
year. </font>
The Namibian (Windhoek)
January 4, 2001
By Max Hamata
Windhoek
Foreign Affairs Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab has played down claims that the agreement between Air Namibia and Uganda Airlines to
operate joint flights to the Gulf, Johannesburg and Entebbe has been discontinued due to "DRC regional war politics".
The Minister told The Namibian that although Uganda and Rwanda stand accused of invading the Democratic Republic of Congo, of
which Namibia is an ally, "we maintain diplomatic relations with both countries. We recognise each other's diplomatic status." He
said Namibian or Ugandan businesses may engage in trade activities with one another.
A source from Uganda Airlines maintained that the agreement, which would have helped highly indebted Air Namibia ease its financial
problems, has been put on ice, pending the outcome of the current peace initiatives to end the DRC war.
The source told The Namibian "Ugandan political bureaucracy" had instructed the Ugandan airline to freeze the agreement, as
Namibia and Uganda are belligerents in the DRC war.
The conflict pits Uganda, Rwanda and several rebel factions against the DRC government of Laurent Kabila, whose ragtag army is
backed by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Speaking from Kampala, Uganda Airlines Co-ordinator Jennifer Musiimi said in an interview the suspension of the agreement "was a
great disappointment to us. It was good for Air Namibia as well because it helps to facilitate trade and the movement of people
between the two countries."
She said the agreement was in line with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa's aim of promoting trade within the
region. "We are still pursuing government approval to continue the joint agreement. There are certain problems the government is
busy sorting out, which may take time. It will possibly take three months for government to sort out those problems and hopefully by
the next traffic season the agreement will be put in force." Musiimi was not willing to comment on the reasons which prompted the
"political bureaucracy" to apply the brakes on the joint flight agreement.
Michael Opagi, the Director for Privatisation in the Ugandan Ministry of Finance, told The Namibian that DRC war politics had nothing
to do with the freezing of the joint flight agreement.
"It had nothing to do with that." He claimed any decision to continue the Air Namibia-Uganda Airlines agreement was going to be
discussed within the context of a Cabinet decision to close down the Ugandan airline.
Air Namibia Managing Director Jafaar Ahmed was reluctant to discuss the postponement of the agreement which could have helped
alleviate the financial problems of the airline, which showed an operational loss of more than N$70 million for the first six months last
year. </font>