KINGSTON - Today, November 16, 2015, David Patterson, Minister of Public Infrastructure signed an agreement with Mr. Perry Holloway, the United States Ambassador to Guyana to establish a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) - the agency tasked with safeguarding the USA’s air transport sector from acts of unlawful interference or terrorism.
This MoA underlines the commitment made earlier this year when Hon. Patterson met with the US Charge d’ Affaires, Mr. Bryan Hunt, in June 2015 and petitioned for technical assistance and regulatory oversight for the maritime and aviation sectors.
The continued partnership between the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the United States of America is necessary for the growth of international aviation activities, particularly, connectivity between US destinations and Guyana. Given the increased challenges faced in the area of aviation security, Guyana welcomes the continued support and commitment of the Government of the United States of America and TSA to improve its security efforts at our international airports, our regulatory agency and of our country as a whole.
North American destinations are very important to our people as there are large Guyanese communities in that region. It therefore means that Guyana has to meet the international requirements for aviation security and satisfy the US-TSA of its capability and efforts at maintaining that acceptable level of security for Guyana to continue accessing these destinations. .
The Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the US-TSA is aimed at providing technical support and specialised equipment that will assist the GCAA development of relevant protocols, procedures, processes to improve its aviation security oversight and security operations at the international airports. The Agreement also provides for training opportunities for capacity building in the regulatory and operational environment.
The agreement opens avenues for Guyana’s international airports to benefit from specialised equipment for cargo and passenger screening.
These initiatives will avail to us an enhanced aviation security posture and will assist with Guyana not only satisfying the US-TSA standards but other International requirements as well.
The agreement between the two States agencies (GCAA and US-TSA) also comes at a time when there is renewed stewardship by the Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Ms. Annette Ferguson and Director General (ag.), Ms. Chaitrani Heeralall to improve the GCAA’s regulatory oversight capability.
Efforts are being made by the Ministry and the GCAA to formalise aviation security oversight by increasing staffing levels which has been significantly lacking in the past years, and strengthening its oversight capability through establishment of legislation and modernising the aviation security regulations and procedures.
Through this new Memorandum of Agreement, the US-TSA has already given a commitment to provide two (2) aviation security-training courses to the GCAA in 2016. These courses are designed to provide capacity building and development for GCAA’s Aviation Security Inspectors.
These commitments are well received, and, will aid the GCAA’s preparation for an upcoming audit under the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Universal Security Audit Programme – Continuous Monitoring Approach (USAP-CMA) scheduled for the 1st quarter of 2016. This audit will determine Guyana’s level of compliance with ICAO Aviation Security Standards and Recommended Practices.
The Memorandum of Agreement will also demonstrate to our industry partners both at the international and national levels, including ICAO, FAA, IATA and our domestic industry of Guyana’s seriousness and commitment to improving and providing appropriate resources and regulatory structure to conduct effective aviation security oversight of the sector.
The events around the world regarding acts of terrorism and unlawful interference over the past weeks have underscored the challenges faced in aviation security and have been of major concern. We will continue to work with our industry partners to establish and implement mechanisms to safeguard this sector while we try to ease the hassle of air travel.
