Civil Aviation Bill sent to Special Select Committee

Mar 10, 2017 News

During the sitting of the 62nd sitting of the National Assembly yesterday, the Civil Aviation Bill

Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson

2017 was sent to a special select committee for further scrutiny after this was recommended by the Infrastructure Minister, David Patterson.
Patterson on behalf of the government tabled the Bill in the National Assembly on January 30, last.
The Minister requested that the Bill spends no more than four weeks before making another appearance in the National Assembly.
Patterson said that he envisages no amendments and explained that the special select committee’s intervention is to allow the Bill to attract further consultation.
The Bill makes provision for offences relating to the safety and security of passengers, aircraft and airports, for the regulation, control and early development of civil aviation in Guyana and related matters.
It also addresses the issue of accident investigations that the provisions for the enablement of the Chicago Convention and the Agreement establishing the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System.
It also seeks to repeal and replace the Civil Aviation Act 2000 and bring Guyana’s aviation law into conformity with primary legislation regulating civil aviation currently found in other parts of the world.
Opposition Member of Parliament, Clement Rohee, during his contribution , said that at the level

GCAA’s Director-General, Colonel (Retd.) Egbert Field.

of the special select committee, the issue of cyber-attack on aircrafts will be examined and provided for.
Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, spoke about the need for protocols to be much clearer with regards to investigations into aviation-related incidents and the issue of liability.
She brought into question also, the protocols in place to handle a scenario of someone’s home being destroyed by an aircraft or a person being injured by an aircraft.
These issues will have to be brought under the committee’s microscope, she said.
The Parliamentarian also spoke about challenges with regards to policy directions and the “ambiguity” in relation to the role of the board, the Minister, and the Director-General.
She opined that the Bill seems to expand beyond its remit.
Patterson responded to a query made by Teixeira over a copy of the Bill which was sent to the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO).
“This draft was shared with ICAO in November…They reviewed it and what they said is that the draft Bill, as it printed, was enacted, Guyana would have a more substantial increase in its effective implementation. In other words, they’ve seen it, reviewed it and approved it in its current form. It is (was) passed, we would have received further credits on our path to (achieving) category One.”

Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira

He added further, that the accident and investigation is a separate Bill and will be tabled in the National Assembly shortly.
The Bill was tabled at a time when the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is working to strengthen its capacity.
The GCAA’s operations were audited, recently, by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to ensure compliance with the international body’s standards and recommended practices.
At a press briefing last December, GCAA’s Director-General, Colonel (Retd.) Egbert Field, noted that the aviation body is working overtime to develop its status.
He added that results of the audit saw Guyana achieving a score of 64.44, a marked improvement from the 44.44 it had scored previously. He said the recent score is above average for the Caribbean.
According to Col. Field, the oversight systems within the GCAA are being examined as key towards advancement of the body’s status. “We are moving forward by trying to establish a robust oversight system, a robust authority,” he said.
He explained that if the body does not strengthen its position, it would not be able to face the challenges that could arise in another two to three years.
According to Col. Field, the GCAA is looking towards the prospect of employing experts to assist in further strengthening its capacity, adding that the government has placed its full support behind development of the sector.

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