The Ugandan government risks facing what happened in 2014 when the Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) withdrew Air Operator Certificates for Air Uganda, Uganda Air Cargo, and Transafrik Uganda Limited following an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) audit that found several deficiencies, including safety concerns.
I got so worried when I watched and listened to the Minister for Works and Transport, Mr Fred Byamukama, issuing reckless statements to the media, including saying that the airport is bushy and that it could cause the President’s jet to be shot down, as well as claiming that they found a dead body on the runway. These are very dangerous statements to make about such a sensitive industry, which is regulated by international bodies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Air Transport Association, and the International Air Carriers Association. Such statements by the minister create fear and have serious implications, which he may not understand.
When you say wrong elements can bring down the presidential jet, you are now trying to communicate that our country is in danger and that our security is weak. Think twice before issuing any sensitive statements.
When you said you found a dead body on the runway, do you know the implications? Such a statement can even lead to our planes’ flying certificates being revoked.
Are you aware that our country struggled a lot to get Uganda Airlines flying directly to London? I hope you are not indirectly sabotaging our government.
Mr Byamukama, I am not against you, but I am only against the way you are running that ministry. It is like you do not know that you are now touching a sensitive industry.
Please play around with the road network, but not that sensitive industry, because you are going to scare away tourists who may start thinking that the airport is bushy. You did not even give an account of how you people got the dead body on the runway.
You also arrested eleven engineers on allegations of vandalism. My question is: where is the security at the airport? I know you could be pushing another narrative, perhaps trying to please the appointing authority by showing that you are working, but you are doing it in the wrong way.
More details will follow.
The writer is a senior veteran journalist.
