Parliament has unanimously passed the Air Navigation Services Agency (ANSA) bill to decouple Ghana’s air navigation service unit from the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
This follows a decade and a half of advocacy by aviation industry players for the country to follow best international practices.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) have over the years pushed for this, as they believe the move will ensure efficient, cost-effective and customer-oriented air navigation services for airlines and other users.
According to them, GCAA (which became an authority in 1986) has a responsibility as both a regulator and services provider, which acts as a constraint – hence the need for separation to resolve any conflicts of interest.
The act, which was passed by parliament on November 4 this year, will lead to the establishment of the Air Navigation Services Agency to provide air navigation services within the air space of Ghana, and any other airspace under the control of Ghana and other related matters.
The move adds to the country’s continuous high record of improving aviation sector reforms in line with meeting the President’s vision of making Ghana the aviation hub of West Africa.
According to the Global Journal of Management and Business Research 2013, experiences in other countries have shown that when there is a separation of the regulator from the service provider, it unlocks the values of providing a better service.
We believe this signifies a major boost to the country’s aviation industry and positions the country favourably to assume the enviable mantle of being the aviation hub of the West Africa sub-region.
