KINGSTON - The coalition government intends to place significant emphasis on the transformation of the infrastructural network, which will see the aviation sector benefitting. A newly established Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Board has a high mandate to work towards this goal of transforming the sector.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson, yesterday, in delivering a charge to members of the newly appointed Board of the GCAA, indicated that the board is expected to oversee the process of transforming and modernising the sector to attain global standards.
“Guyana’s level of effective implementation is currently 44.21% with regard to eight critical elements of safety oversight as established by ICAO…with your help it will be fixed,” Minister Ferguson charged.
Further, her vision is to see the civil aviation system modernised and changed to match global standards, as such she committed herself and the government to work closely with the Board, International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and other stakeholders to increase Guyana’s effective implementation to at least 60 percent.
“This in my view is a key pre-requisite for the sustainable development of aviation, and to aid Guyana’s efforts in reaching benchmarked timelines established in ICAO’s global aviation safety plan and global air navigation plan,” Minister Ferguson explained,
In that regard, the Board was charged to do the following; provide effective leadership and guidance to the authority; transform the GCAA into a high performance organisation that is one that is results-oriented and people focused; develop a succession planning framework; establish a clear strategic direction and corporate plan for the authority; renew and develop strategic partnerships with key stakeholders for the achievement of the organisation’s mandate and address the financial sustainability of the authority.
The ICAO has been pushing the ‘no country left behind’ initiative which means that significant work has to be done in the sector with regards the implementation of its recommendations.
Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson said that there is a tremendous opportunity available in the aviation sector, hence the need for the board to push to ensure that those opportunities become a reality.
Lawrence London, Chairman of the board, in response to the charge given by both ministers with responsibility for the aviation sector said he expects the board to work as a team to remove processes. Further, in noting the amount of work that has to be done, he said there is no time to spare.
“When we meet early next week, we will chart a course and set out a work plan so that what you’ve charged us to do will be done,” London said.
Chitrani Heeralall, Director General (ag) GCAA said it is refreshing to see that the newly appointed members have a wealth of experience in the aviation sector. “Aviation is a dynamic industry which has demonstrated growth and a continued trend upwards… It is one of the main sectors to improve our socio-economic structures in Guyana for all of our people,” Heeralall explained.
The GCAA board members are as follows Lawrence London, Chairman; Hugh Denbow; Sadie Amin; Rodwell Astil Paul; Duke Pollard; Cargill Kyte; Ramesh Ghir; Chitrani Heeralall and Balraj Balram.
