Aviation safety and services in Ghana

The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is the regulatory agency of the Government for air transport in Ghana. It also provides air navigation services within the Accra Flight Information Region (FIR), which comprises of the airspace over the Republics of Ghana, Togo and Benin and a large area over the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Guinea. The GCAA is an Agency under the Ministry of Transport.

GCAA performs the following functions among others, to ensure the provision of safe and secure air transport services in the Accra FIR:

·    Provision of air navigation services within the Accra Flight Information Region;
·    The regulation, promotion, development and enforcement of safe air transport operations and services;
·    The licensing of air transport and all personnel engaged in air transport services;
·    The licensing of the provision of accommodation in aircraft and licensing and certification of aerodromes and navigational sites;
·    The co-ordination of search and rescue services within the Accra FIR and taking security measures to safeguard air transport, life and property.

On 29 January 2004 seven West African States namely Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone met in Banjul, Gambia to sign the Banjul Accord Group (BAG) Agreement. This agreement requires BAG member States to harmonise their policies and procedures on civil aviation and foster the development of international civil aviation through co-operative arrangements among the states.

Subsequently, in the same year, the seven BAG member States signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the implementation of the Co-operative Development of Operational Safety and Continuing Airworthiness Project for the Banjul Accord Group (COSCAP-BAG). The project was implemented under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Technical Cooperation Programme through assignment and technical back-stopping of internationally and regionally recruited experts in the fields of flight operations, airworthiness and aerodromes and for carrying out safety oversight functions on behalf of the BAG member States.

In establishing the MOU for the implementation of the COSCAP-BAG, member states agreed on the objective of establishing a safety oversight agency in order to consolidate and sustain the COSCAP’s achievements.

In that respect, a core objective in the project document called for the carrying out of a feasibility study for the institutionalization of the COSCAP arrangements covering administrative, economic, financing and legal issues and production of draft MOU or a more formal Agreement for the establishment of a Banjul Accord Aviation Safety Oversight Organization (BAGASOO).

Ghana, together with other member states, has been involved directly in the development of the legal framework and other supporting operational documents leading to the establishment of BAGASOO. This support has been through the provision of financial, legal and technical expertise.

Core among issues addressed were: ensuring the new organisation would be adequately funded; deciding the administrative functions of a proposed Board and the secretariat of the organisation and resolving issues pertaining to the status of the organisation and the functions of the organisation.

In June 2009, the ministers responsible for aviation in the BAG States signed the agreement establishing BAGASOO in Montreal-Canada, with the objective of enhancing aviation safety within the BAG Region.

Among the objectives of BAGASOO as stipulated in Article 4 of the Agreement are: the Promotion of safe and efficient use and development of civil aviation within and outside member states; assisting member states in meeting their safety oversight obligations and responsibilities under the Chicago Convention and its safety-related annexes and documents. It also includes promoting the implementation of industry best practices within member states as defined in the ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP).

Currently, the Director-General of GCAA, Air Cdre Kwame Mamphey, chairs the Board of Directors of BAGASOO.  The Board of Directors perform specific set of functions which are geared towards meeting the mission of the BAGASOO and serving its best interest.  Their main responsibility lies in planning, monitoring and controlling the activities of the BAGASOO to ensure the optimisation of the resources of the BAGASOO and the achievement of its stated objectives. They do this by ensuring that Board decisions, some of which are translated into policy, are implemented, and that the BAGASOO operates within the agreed geographical, financial and administrative constraints. This is achieved by monitoring the results of the implementation of policies, strategies and other measures.

A Ghanaian and former Director of GCAA Safety Regulation, Wg. Cdr Emmanuel Akatue, has also been appointed as the first Executive Director of the BAGASOO.