IFATSEA AFRICA 2018 SPEECH BY HON. JAMES W. MACHARIA, EGH, CABINET SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT,

SPEECH BY HON. JAMES W. MACHARIA, EGH, CABINET SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE, HOUSING, URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS DURING IFATSEA AFRICA REGIONAL MEETING HELD AT BOMA HOTEL, NAIROBI ON TUESDAY, 31^ST JULY, 2018

Eng. Joseph N. Nkadayo, MBS, Chairman, KCAA Board of Directors

Capt. Gilbert M. Kibe, Director General, KCAA

Directors General of Civil Aviation present

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good morning,

I am delighted to join you here this morning as we participate in this 8th Africa Regional Meeting and Conference of International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Associations (IFATSEA). Let me seize this opportune moment to warmly welcome all of us to this worthwhile event. To our visiting colleagues from the AFI Region and beyond, please feel welcome to our city of Nairobi.

Allow me to express my gratitude to Kenya ATSEA for congregating together Global experts to share ideas on the theme: “Aviation Safety and Security; ATSEPs Contributions” with a view to candidly deliberate on a plethora of issues ranging from certification, training and engagement of ATSEPs while at the same ensuring compliance with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS).

Before I proceed further let us give a round of applause to our able panelists and our host, IFATSEA for ensuring this 8^th annual Africa Meeting and Conference has come to fruition.  I feel honoured when I see a pool of talented and dedicated aviation trail blazers and professionals before me who are ready and willing to enrich the discourses on the menu. I commend you!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Growth of the aviation industry in Africa has necessitated the need for technical and economic cooperation that drives capacity building and professionalism in aviation industry. Technology transfer in development, engineering and maintenance of aviation systems forms the basis for this growth.

Air Traffic Safety Electronics Personnel (ATSEP), who are our engineers and technicians in Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems have come together from around Africa to share engineering challenges and solutions for the benefit of aviation industry. ATSEPs form a core part of the technical teams whose roles contribute to aviation safety and security within our airspace.

Kenya via International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Associations (IFATSEA) is hosting this continental event to promote safety, technology, innovation and manpower development for ATSEPs, manufacturers, system designers, aviation training organisations, air navigation service providers, civil aviation authorities and aviation safety experts.

By operating CNS equipment that enables communication between air traffic controllers and pilots, flight navigation via instruments and surveillance via integrated radar systems, ATSEP operations ensure safety of aircraft, crew, passengers, the environment and airspace at large. This service is so critical to aviation to the extent that ICAO requirements of system availability is 97% - Kenya has consistently ensured a score of over 98% for our CNS/ATM equipment availability which underscores the low rate of incidents arising out equipment outages and increased airspace coverage for our Navigation Aids and Surveillance Systems. KCAA’s massive investment in the modernization of Air Navigation Equipments and systems has not only led to this achievement but also ensured Kenya provides exceptional air navigation services to aircrafts transiting into and out of our airspace.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In order to effectively regulate ATSEP operations, air navigation service providers, civil aviation authorities and IFATSEA under guidance of ICAO have promoted inclusion of ATSEP operations into State civil aviation regulations.  In Kenya, the Civil Aviation (Personnel Licensing) Regulations 2018, now provides for inclusion of ATSEPs into the regulatory framework that deals with issuance of licenses, certifications, ratings and authorizations. This is expected to delegate safety responsibilities to individual ATSEPs on actions pertaining to their roles and duties.

Distinguished Participants,

I am reliably informed that, this forum will discuss matters of ATSEPs contribution to safety and security in aviation industry. Key issues brought for deliberation in this forum include;

ü Redefining roles and responsibilities of ATSEPs that touch on aviation safety;

ü Safety and security sensitization in ATSEP operations to enhance  and regulate engineering and maintenance services;

ü Gains and challenges in legal and regulatory framework for implementing ATSEP State Licensing;

ü ATSEP competence based training and assessment as a key contributor to aviation safety.

In addition, this meeting is one in a series of forums that are building on the ICAO General Assembly 2019 agenda on ATSEP recognition in Annex 1 - Personnel Licensing. It is with the foregoing in mind that, I look forward to very interactive sessions whose outputs and outcomes will guide policy formulation in this profession.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In conclusion allow me to thank the following for partnering with the hosts; Kenya Air Traffic Systems Engineering Association and Kenya civil Aviation Authority to deliver the theme of this conference;

Directors and Chief Executives of Civil Aviation Authorities, Aviation Training Organizations and Air Navigation Service Providers; Manufacturers and designers of systems, International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Eastern and Southern African Regional Office, Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO), CASSOA and IFATSEA. Technical Associations; KATCA, KAIMA and KACOA. Engineering Regulatory bodies; KETRB and EBK. Aviation safety experts, presidents of ATSEP associations from Africa, the entire crew of delegates from Africa and the rest of our partners in the aviation industry.

With those few remarks, I now declare the Conference officially open, welcome.

God bless you all.