New land lease fees threaten aviation sector development
Keto Segwai | Wednesday July 17, 2024 16:44
The review saw a steep hike in fees from P100 per year for each airport or airstrip to P55 per square metre. Airports and airstrips are by their nature big pieces of land, The CAAB CEO, Dr Bao Mosinyi, noted at a recent media briefing in Maun that “on average that is about a P1 million per airstrip.” Yet the bulk of these airstrips are basically for security and humanitarian uses and do not make any revenue for CAAB. There are 23 of these airstrips, which are known as strategic airstrips, spread out into the hinterland, normally in hard-to-reach areas. They are primarily used for emergency medical evacuations and by the security sector including police, army, wildlife department and related cadres. Under the reviewed Land Boards fee structure, CAAB has, for instance, to pay P1.3 million annually for such an airstrip in Pandamatenga. That comes to about P21 million a year for all the airstrips. “As such we owe the Land Boards lots of money,” he revealed.
There are also two other airports that CAAB takes care of in Gantsi and Selebi-Phikwe and these are mainly used by very important persons (VIP) often for presidential or ministerial visits. The security sector also uses these. CAAB also runs four international airports comprising the Maun International Airport, the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone, the Kasane International Airport, and the PG Matante International Airport in Francistown. Though these are commercially oriented, Kasane and PG [Phillip Gaonwe] Matante airports are yet to generate profit. The Maun International Airport is currently CAAB’s highest-income earner, followed by the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport. Mosinyi is, however, optimistic that the fee issue will be resolved as CAAB management has been engaging the Lands ministry, intending to review the fee structure in relation to the aviation sector. Unfortunately, the aviation authority does not have the critical support of its board of directors, which has not been appointed since the last one’s term expired on March 31, 2024. Only the board chairperson remains, awaiting handover to the new board. If not urgently addressed, it is feared that CAAB’s so far steely implementation of their pronounced aviation sector development could be crush-landed by these lease fees.
The aviation authority, whose three-in-one role of being airports manager, air navigation provider as well as regulator – has been focused on resuscitating the sector in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought the sector to its knees globally. CAAB’s achievements in that endeavour, specifically in its incoming-generating roles of airport management and air navigation provision have been evident. Seemingly, the authority will be on course to realise the P500 million in revenues annually as per their recently concluded five-year strategic plan (2024–2029). That plan also aims to achieve operational efficiency and effective implementation of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety and security score of about 95%. From about P50 million in revenues in 2021, CAAB has been steadily building up its revenues to P186 million in 2023. This year’s unaudited financial statements place revenues in the region of P265 million. Aircraft movement and passenger numbers in CAAB’s airports have been rising. For instance, in 2022 about 40, 000 aircraft movements were recorded, building up to 67, 280 in 2023, and currently stands at 70, 195. Passenger numbers are expected to increase this year, particularly with the introduction of the Ethiopian Airlines’ direct flights between Addis Ababa and Maun last month, and the launch on July 3 of the Windhoek–Maun direct flight by FlyNamibia. Ethiopian Airlines route between Gaborone and Addis Ababa has seen the introduction of a larger aircraft since it commenced in June 2015.
Mosinyi also disclosed that Air Botswana has applied for more routes in anticipation of acquiring a new fleet of aircrafts and is expected to commence those routes in August. At the recent Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) annual conference, the national airline’s CEO, Lulu Rasebotsa, hinted that Air Botswana will be flying routes that include Gaborone–Durban; Gaborone–Windhoek; Maun–Mpumalanga; Cape Town–Kasane–Maun. South African Airways (SAA) has also applied for the Gaborone–Johannesburg route. The aviation authority has also been making headway in ICAO requirements. For instance, the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport was certified by ICAO in November last year while the Maun International Airport was certified this year in February. “We are currently working on Kasane airport and later PG Matante,” Mosinyi noted. CAAB is also seized with complying with ICAO’s universal safety oversight audit programme continuous monitory approach (USOA CMA) and underwent that audit from June 18-24 this year. That audit also covered aerodromes and ground aids otherwise commonly known as drones. That audit saw CAAB’s effective implementation score shooting from 40.37% to 80.1%. A big leap considering that the country was assessed only as 24% compliant in 2022.
Emphasising the importance of scores, Mosinyi noted that positive attracts reputable airlines to open up routes into the country, highlighting that currently, only one country is higher than Botswana in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region of ICAO. Two weeks ago, the Minister of Transport and Public Works, Eric Molale signed the drone(s) regulation. “We had rules and guidelines; now we have regulations,” Mosinyi noted. He further disclosed that CAAB is working on consumer (passenger) protection regulations. “The regulations will make it clear to the airlines what’s their responsibility is. Similarly, they will make the passengers aware of their rights,” he added.