Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana’s (AOAG) vile agenda

Mar 20, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,
The leaked letter from the AOAG, addressed to the Minister of Public Works, pretentiously representing the Aviation Industry, is full of inaccuracies with the intent to influence policy decisions of a statutory state body for its own vile agenda.
Editor, allow me the opportunity to set the record straight.
Air Services Ltd, AG Air Inc., Guyana Rotorcraft Services Inc. and some private Air Operators are not members of the AOAG; and therefore the AOAG cannot speak on behalf of the Aviation Industry. Naturally, the Association can only speak on behalf of its limited membership, but not everyone.
Editor, let’s not be blindsided by Guyana’s improved ICAO compliance ranking from 44 percent to 75 percent within the last six years under the present GCAA’s leadership. Adoration is credited to a team and not to one individual.
After 2015, the GCAA consistently drained its coffers to deficit, created an ‘old boys club’ work culture, and have over-regulated the domestic Aviation Sector to such a great extent that there is now a human capital crisis in the Aviation Sector- lack of Flight Crew, Maintenance Personnel and Aviation Inspectors in the entire system.
Unfortunately, the leadership structure of the GCAA continues to add and apply more rules and regulations in pursuit of higher rankings, masked as: “in the interest of safety”, without properly considering Guyana’s unique operational environment. The effect is: more complexity and operational barriers in the Aviation Industry. Things simply take longer and become harder to get done, while utilising considerable amount of resources – certainly not exemplary as AOAG asserts.
Let’s not forget what happened at the beginning of the pandemic and during the 2020 elections crisis when Air Operators were shamelessly called unscrupulous by the GCAA; and were even threatened with closure and price control over ticket prices.
As the GCAA has now come full circle in doing the very thing it was supposed to do since 2015, that is to progressively build its oversight capacity in order to satisfy ICAO standards free of the ‘old boys club’ culture, the leadership remains loyal to nepotism. A clear example of this is stated in the AOAG letter when it makes a half baked case for the GCAA to retain a favoured contracted employee at the expense of other least favored qualified candidates.
The tentacles of the AOAG’s influence becomes deeply concerning as it boldly states in its letter to the Minister that after having seen the shortlist of names, it is not impressed. How did the Association get access to such information much-less use the information in an attempt to influence the Government Minister? This must be halted.
I am calling on the Hon. Minister Edghill to allow the Chairman of the GCAA’s Board to properly execute his functions under the law and that a fair process free of interference is guaranteed. There should be no sacred cow. Investigate the AOAG’s attempt to manipulate a statutory process of a state agency in support of its agenda.
Yours faithfully,
Capt. A. Mazahar Ally
Managing Director for Air Services Ltd., Guyana Rotorcraft Services Inc., AG Air Inc.

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