AFRICA IN FOCUS >> Coming up on 11 November, 2014: Peace & Security in West Africa: Burkina Faso, and Matters Arising (2)

Peace & Security in West Africa: Burkina Faso, and Matters Arising (2)

 AIF is exactly six months old this week.

Our second show, on 13 May, was on "Peace & Security in West Africa: the missing girls; free movement; Boko Haram; and the role of ECOWAS". 

Guests included a researcher from the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre(KAIPTC); a Nigerian diasporan Counter-terrorism expert who is a lawyer/former METROPOLITAN Police Officer, and author on Boko Haram; and a Nigerian journalist.

The last time ECOWAS had a meeting in Accra was to discuss Ebola. Last week’s two-day meeting proved the exception to the rule because of the popular uprising in Burkina Faso. ECOWAS has yet to appoint a Special envoy to Burkina Faso, but the world knows of the AU and the UN’s envoy. After last week’s ECOWAS meeting, we also know that Senegalese President Macky Sall will head the Regional Contact Group monitoring affairs in Burkina Faso, and it will include Ghanaian President and ECOWAS Chair President Mahama.

It is barely two weeks, yet there have already been a lot of diplomatic movements underway to ensure Burkina heads down the road to civilian rule. That said, it is not going to be an easy ride. It is for this reason we will be speaking to Accra-based West Africa Network for Peace-building(WANEP)’s Mr.Diallo to give us the latest update, and prospects for the country returning to some degree of normalcy.

Our experts from KAIPTC were unavailable this time, but we were able to get a former KAIPTC official to give us her insight into the region’s peace and security challenges, and consider the way forward on some of the biggest threats to the region’s peace and security.

In October 2013, an ECOWAS summit was dominated by issues relative to its financial health – the EPAs; the CET; and the Community Integration Levy, which helps finance ECOWAS institutions. A year later, hard peace and security issues have resurfaced, prompting speculation as to whether ECOWAS will ever get the opportunity to focus more than one of its summits on the regional economy?

We want to use the 23^rd edition of the programme to reprise the issue of peace & security – not because it has not been an important talking point for the past five-and-a-half months, but primarily because it has loomed even larger at this time than ever before.

Guiding Questions to be answered:

·        What was ECOWAS’ decision on Burkina, and what is the way forward towards civilian rule?

·        What about peace and security in West Africa as result of Burkina? Will there be any blowback from the Sahel – as in Mali?

·        Since 2008, ECOWAS has been fire-fighting crises in UEMOA countries. Should ECOWAS continue to expend inordinate resources fighting to keep the “ECOWAS peace” at expense of economic development?

·       Is UEMOA still a good idea within ECOWAS when the latter spends most of its resources resolving electoral crises in the UEMOA countries?

Guests in the studio:

Ø  Alimou Diallo, WANEP @13h30 

Ø  Araba Arhin, former KAIPTC official

Ø  Prof. Djeneba Traore, West Africa Institute, Cape Verde @ 14h00 

Ø  Dominick Andoh, Head of Aviation desk, Business & Financial Times Paper @14h15

Ø  Kobby Blay, Ebola Watch @14h30

Post-show Video Clip of Airline Pilot / Aviation Consultant Captain Amoah on Airline Safety

E.K. shared a video with you! “Dear friends, To mark the 20th edition of the Africa in Focus show, we have commenced post-show video interviews that seek to both promote the work of the guests we invite, and some of their ideas on the themes we cover for the show. In this post-show clip, Captain Victor Amoah, airline pilot, aviation Consultant, and columnist for Business & Financial Times paper, also tells us why the aviation sector is the-go-to sector, and how he is keen to educate Ghanaians on the benefits of the aviation industry.” View video

© 2014 Dropbox

Post-show Video Clip of Aviation Consultant Mr.Antwi-Bosiako on Airline Safety

E.K. shared a video with you! “Dear friends, To mark the 20th edition of the Africa in Focus show, we have commenced post-show video interviews that seek to both promote the work of the guests we invite, and some of their ideas on the themes we cover for the show. In this post-show clip, Mr.Antwi-Bosiako, an Aviation Consultant who has worked with ANTRAK AIR before, tells us why the aviation sector remains one of the safest forms of transport in the country. Comments much appreciated! Regards, Emmanuel” View video

© 2014 Dropbox

PODCAST>> "AFRICA IN FOCUS: Africa's Aviation Sector (3) (4 November, 2014)

From E K: "Dear friends, Kindly find the link to the podcast of #AfricainFocus show on Tuesday 4 November, 2014. We spent some 15 minutes getting a quick update from Mr.Diallo of the Accra-based West Africa Network for Peacebuilding on the unfolding situation in Burkina Faso. We spent the 22nd edition of Africa in Focus reprising the theme of Africa's aviation sector, with a focus on safety. We spoke to Captain Victor Amoah, an airline pilot very conversant with the incident, which brought domestic airline Starbow to the headlines. We left the show reminded that the airline industry is one of the safest transport systems around, and we need to do one other thing: build more national airports, which are the missing link between aviation fuel and airline tickets. It really is not only about taxes, but about aviation fuel. Every pilot starts his day having factored fuel. Even more so the domestic airlines. As usual, we had different segments, including our regular "Africa in the News". We look forward to comments! In solidarity! Emmanuel" Click here to view (E K shared these files using Dropbox. Enjoy!) © 2014 Dropbox

AFRICA IN FOCUS >> Coming up on 4 November, 2014: State of Africa's Aviation Sector(3)

State of Africa’s Aviation Sector(3), and Burkina Faso update!

Following domestic airline Starbow’sTakoradi-bound aircraft that was compelled to make an emergency landing at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA), after a hydraulic failure was detected by the pilot 15 minutes into the 45-minute flight, we felt it was important to do a third-take on the theme of Africa’s Airlines. So it is great to be talking about an African Airlines and African Airspace, but liberalization without safety is a non-starter.

Bottom line is this: the airline industry in Africa supports nearly 7 million jobs and $80 billion in GDP, but its potential is hampered by protectionism, constrained markets, safety concerns, costs and inadequate infrastructure and regulation. A report by InterVISTAS for the International Association of Travel Agents says liberalisation of air services covering Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda could create 155 000 jobs and boost GDP by $1.3 billion.

Additionally, the report studied the economic impact of implementing the 1999 Yamoussoukro Decision, which pledged to open up Africa’s air-transport markets to transnational competition. “It is absurd that it is possible to travel 13 times a week from Nairobi to London yet impossible to travel directly from Nairobi to Dakar. A potential 5 million passengers a year are being denied the opportunity to travel, trade and spread economic and social development,” Airports Council International (ACI) says.

Very recently, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has proposed the placement of a cap on the age of aircraft permitted to fly to and from the airspace controlled by Ghana, known as the Accra Flight Information Region, as a way of checking recent aviation incidents in the sub-region.

Construed as an important step in ensuring safety, we want to use this 22^nd edition of AIF to take the conversation on about Africa’s airlines even further by asking how safe we are when we fly, and flesh out from our guests important elements the public and consumers need to know about Africa’s aviation industry—both international and domestic!

In the light of developments in Burkina Faso, we will briefly speak to an expert from the West Africa Network on Peacebuilding (WANEP) to help us understand developments underway in that West African country.

Guiding Questions to be answered:

• ·        What concrete measures are airlines taking to help bring down tickets?
• ·     Taxes, Charges and Fees are the highest in West Africa. Is it a case of West African governments being insensitive to the necessity of airlines in contributing to Africa’s development?
• ·        What can our governments do better to help the aviation sector, beyond implementing the YD?
• What are some of the constraints faced by domestic airlines’ growth, and are African governments stil found wanting on inhibiting the growth of the sector?

Guests for the show:

Ø  Alimou Diallo, West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) @13h20

Ø  Mr.Antwi-Bosiako, Aviation Consultant

Ø  Dominick Andoh, Head of Aviation Desk, Business & Financial Times Paper

Ø  Captain Amoah, Aviation Consultant, Business & Financial Times Paper

Ø  Kobby Blay, Ebola Watch

Post-show Video Clip of Tourism advocacy organisation TRAC's Dr.Boakye

E.K. shared a video with you! “Dear friends, To mark the 20th edition of the Africa in Focus show, we have commenced post-show video interviews that seek to both promote the work of the guests we invite, and some of their ideas on the themes we cover for the show. In this maiden post-show clip, Dr.Boakye, of tourism advocacy organisation TRAC, tells us where he would like to see tourism go, and why it is important we consider using it as a way of generating money for the country. Comments much appreciated! Regards, Emmanuel” View video

© 2014 Dropbox

PODCAST>> "AFRICA IN FOCUS: Africa's Aviation Sector (2) (28 October, 2014)

From Emmanuel K: "Dear friends, Kindly find the link to the podcast of #AfricainFocus show on Tuesday 28 October, 2014. We had a mixed bag, where we interviewed Aviation Consultant Antwi-Boasiako, and Head of Aviation News at Business/Financial Times Newspaper Dominick Andoh to speak to the issues of Africa's aviation sector. The last half of the show, we spoke to Samuel Sam, Northern Regional correspondent for the same paper, who had just received a Tourism award for his coverage of the Northern region. Present in the studio was Dr.Boakye of Tourism advocacy organisation Tourism Research Advocacy Centre (TRAC). As usual, we had different segments, including our regular "Africa in the News". We also had #EbolaWatch updates from Kobby Blay, our registered nurse at Korle-Bu, who was at the studios this time for our 21st edition. We look forward to comments! Kind regards, Emmanuel" Click here to view (Emmanuel K shared these files using Dropbox. Enjoy!) © 2014 Dropbox