African Av Development

[bullcom]

I've been lurking on this Africa forum for a couple of years, figuring out what TIA means and why. I've only flown there a couple of times in my trusty herc, now doing staff work for an interested non african military.

I have a question for you long term africa hands that are in the know-

If you had a couple of million USD and could do almost anything in the aviation infrastructure space on the continent of Africa, what would your wish list include? Things like:

ATC Training/radar/radios?
Weather sensors?
Navaids/route development/improved approach designs/gps approach approval?
Airport Security upgrades/fences?
anything at all--trying to brainstorm ideas to take up my leadership chain.

what is the highest priority bang for the buck project you can think of?

[DRPAM007]

Just the thread I've been looking to for. However, I have a question for you.
Why do you want to invest that in Africa?

And to answer your query from my thoughts at the moment:
Africa needs the Transfer of skills to people who would want to live and work in Africa; basically Human resource development.


The fact is I'm currently writing a desertation on;
'' Safe sustainable Aviation in the AFI region: The first steps''

[maxrated]

Dear Bullcom,


what is the highest priority bang for the buck project you can think of?

I think that a small nuclear device, detonated at the next OAU (Organisation of African Unity) heads of state summit, will do infinitely more to eliminate bad and corrupt governance in Africa than simply giving away free stuff to people who wont appreciate it.

This will in turn promote peace and economic stability throughout the entire region, which will create an environment allowing the developement of normal user funded aviation infrastructures as well as other services and infrastructures that have been allowed to go to hell, since the colonial powers left.

If you had a couple of million USD and could do almost anything in the aviation infrastructure space on the continent of Africa, what would your wish list include?

Ok this is where it gets tricky.

Firstly I think you should know that Africa is actually made up of about 54 countries, give or take a 'coup de tete' or invasion here or there.

So one cannot actually paint the entire continent with the same brush.

Each country or region needs to be evaluated on its own individual needs.

For example Sudan has thousands of small bush runways and only 24 of them have windsocks.

Conversely South Africa, has lots of windsocks and good radar and atc coverage but the only competant CAA commisioner in the history of the country is about to be replaced by a political apointee who knows nothing of matters aeronautical.

In Zimbabwe they have well maintained airfields but no one fly's to them because there is no Avgas and the countries substantial GA fleet are idle in their hangars at Charles Prince airport.

Kenya has a vibrant aviation sector which is being strangled to death by kleptocratic civil aviation authorities, who are supported by well meaning yet out of touch European technocrats from EASA/JAR Ops in Brussels.

Somalia has a massive need for aviation services, thats if the pilots stopped getting shot at every time they flew into there.

Francophone west Africa has some of the worst and most severe thunderstorms and weather on the continent yet most of those countries have no qualified MET forecasters.

See how divergent the aviation problems can be between countries?

I think you have your work cut out for you.

I wish you luck with your endevours, let us know how things are going.

If there is one thing I can guarentee you about this project is that you will be dissilusioned and dissapointed at the end of it all.

Remember TIA. AWA.

;)

[zoneout]

DRPAM007: I am with you on your opinion. Africa is about the people. They either mess it up, or build it up. Do things that lead to the people wising up, and you have built a good base for all the rest.

[bullcom]

Maxrated, thank you for the thoughtful reply, made me laugh. I am under no illusions we can solve the underlying problems on the continent, also aware that its a big diverse place. Again I have the ability to spend a bit of cash down there for avaition infrastructure development, can spend on widgets or training, but what kind and where we'd have the best/largest effect (if any).

mike

[Cardinal Puff]

Accurate met data gathering and forecasting would be nice. Problem is it requires long term maintenance of skills and equipment to keep the standards high. Without outside intervention, that won't happen. The minute you leave, it'll all return to normal with equipment allowed to deteriorate, skills allowed to diminish and any funds set aside for upkeep diverted to more urgent projects like new Mercedes Benz for the ruling elite.


Cynical, but that's how things work here.

[Melax]

Africa is a very "Special Place". It is still a continent where you can make large profits in aviation, however you better know how to operate and be very, very well connected... :}

[maxrated]

Bullcom.

Thanks for your feedback, on a more serious note, could you elabourate on exactly what your mandate is from your financial backers as well as your budget.

Also , at what technical levels are you able to run with this, for example, could you finance and impliment SSR radar coverage over the entire continent or are we talking simply installing windsocks at mission station airfields in South Sudan?

To get any project like this going you would need to be backing a country or country's where there is a genuine political will and ability to appreciate what you are doing for them. The majority of african goverments will see your arrival in their country as an opportunity to pump up the amounts in their Swiss bank accounts.

In this regard I would suggest backing a country that has a progressive government which may be short of financial resources and technical ability.

Country's like Mocambique, Namibia, Zambia and Ghana come to mind where as putting your money into DRC Congo or Nigeria would be like pouring it into a bottomless pit.

Another criteria for your project is that it should be in a country that has a user friendly aviation culture. Some governments see aviation as nothing more than a sector which they can fleece by charging huge landing fees and overflight clearances while giving nothing back to the industry or infrastructures. These sort of country's are undeserving of your noble intentions.

Regards
Max.

[keitaidenwa]

Want development? Then do business rather than handouts. Rather than donating better infrastructure, create the business reasons to improve infrastructure and efficiency. A bit like the for-profit arm of Aga Khan Network does.

And also put the book "Dead Aid" on your reading list.

[DRPAM007]

This is a forum where we can let our hair down and take swipes at events that garnish our mortal existence.
However, this is not the time for rash innuendos and cheap rhetoric. This is about constructive prognosis of how to get Africa out of the woods. I’m certain that the pilot community here has got a lot of thinking capacity and innovative ideas behind the mask of subtle arrogance and bravado that we encase our personas with.

It is not an under statement that most African countries have sadly maintained the status of pawns in the grand game of international politics and economics. They’ve remained perpetually developing but never developed. The idea of national interest has been proved to be rather myopic and counter productive as technology and globalisation has put paid to the axiom “ what goes around, comes around”. Case in point Chernobyl, three mile Island And what do you know; the earth is indeed round. The economic and political arch rivals of the 19th century have realised that to remain relevant in the 21st century, they need to bury the hatchet and team up; now we have the EU. The magic words; synergy and regional co-operation.

Have African professionals abandoned the continent to the whims and caprices of “where the wind blows”.?

The UN was primarily founded to provide the focal point for the pursuance and maintenance of global peace, but it looks like conflicts are here to stay as long as nations invest in producing arms. Is it possible that conflicts are usually encouraged and precipitated in order to sell arms?

The truth is that though Africa bleeds for it, the planet will eventually pay for it.

Any thoughts why, Africa is notorious for escalating and prolonged regional conflicts involving small/medium arms while no country in Africa manufactures those arms.
Why African countries produce crude oil, but end up importing refined oil; they produce cotton, but import clothes; produce aluminium and steel, but import cars, produce fare paying international passengers, but have a horde of blacklisted airlines. If Africa is incessantly misled by the bait of hypocritical foreign aid, used and abused as the global dumping ground. Some day,the whole planet will begin to stink.
Where is the moral high ground when Africa is accused of being corrupt yet the loot ends up in Banks and businesses in ' "civilised and ethically upright" nations? Truth; nations only have permanent interests in order to achieve and maintain competitive advantge.
USA, EU and other developed countries have vested economic and political interests in Africa. Unless they avoid Africa completely, once in a while, the message that the unsafe African are skies will prove unsafe to all who dare to fly. Moral in the story? Safe African skies, eventually mean a safer planet!

Truth is, it takes two to tango. Irrespective of the status quo and the way it works; Africa should wake up a steer itself out of these troubled waters.

How do you address to the African aviation question?

[maxrated]

DRPAM007

Sir you raise so many points in your post.

Any thoughts why, Africa is notorious for escalating and prolonged regional conflicts involving small/medium arms while no country in Africa manufactures those arms.

Quite a few actually.

Africa is notorious for prolonged conflicts due to an uneducated and semi literate electorate, electing woefully inept people into government, who in turn have ruined their countries through a string of ill informed, poor and arrogant actions and decisions.

The post colonial history of Africa has proved that African culture and democracy are incompatible.

Your second point here,
No sane capitalist businessman, would invest money in an arms/munitions production venture ( or any financial business venture)in a country where his investment was liable to be nationalised, commandered or where he would be forced to ceed half his business to the presidents nephew/auntie/brother/goldfish etc.

The reason why Africa produces so little is due to the governments enforcing ruling party rhetoric and socialist economic experiments over and above sound and historically proven, capitalist economic principles.

African governments need to leave economics alone and leave it to the capitalists who will build the african economies quite well all on their own.

One of the biggest stumbling blocks in this regard is the inability of Africans to accept blame for anything that they have done wrong, ( this is also an Arabic cultural trait), this is a cultural thing which I feel is a major issue as one cannot fix a problem if one doesnt acknowlege its existance and cause in the first place.

Robert Mugabe seriously does not think that the current problems in Zimbabwe are his fault at all, a classic example of african denial. More alarmingly is that other african leaders are reluctant to critisize him, a further example of this.


How do you address to the African aviation question?

You dont!

You need competant civil servants and government in place first , then these problems will solve themselves.


Just my 2 cents worth...