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GCAA commended for being compliant

Jan 29, 2016, 9:45 AM | Article By: Njie Baldeh

The joint session of the Public Accounts Committee and Public Enterprises Committee (PAC/PEC) of the National Assembly has commended the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) for being compliant with the Gambia Pupblic Procurement Authority (GPPA) regulations.

The commendation came following the adoption of the authority’s activity and financial report on Thursday.

In his contribution, Hon. Tombong Jatta, member for Serrekunda East and the Majority leader, commended GCAA for being compliant with GPPA rules.

He said the GCAA has been very proactive on how to overcome their problems, and thanked the board and the management for meeting the basic requirements of the two committees.

“The document presented here and the activity report was well-prepared and very informative,” he said, adding that they have supplied them more information than necessary.

“We have your strategic plan from 2015-2019 and you are here in large numbers. The other thing is the compliance level of institutions with GPPA,” he told deputies.

Hon. Jatta further said looking at the report submitted by GPPA, he had tried to find out those institutions that have been performing constantly, and going through those institutions he had eight line institutions that have performed above 90 per cent.

Also contributing to the debate was Hon Abdoulie Saine, member for Banjul Central, who commented on the GCAA report including its GPPA compliance. He said that in their compressive payroll everything was intact.

He also said all the GCAA sectors had been represented, and urged other institutions to follow suit.

The GCAA on Wednesday presented its activity report for 2014 before the joint session of the PAC/PEC of the National Assembly.

Catherine Nying, deputy director general of the GCAA, in presenting the report, said the authority continues to strive for full compliance with ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS) and for the acquisition of International Aviation Safety Assessment Program (IASA) category1 rating.

She further told deputies that the authority’s two-pronged objectives are meant to consolidate on its gains recognised by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) baseline audit and ICAO Comprehensive Systems Audit conducted in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

The realisation of these objectives would not only place The Gambia on the world civil aviation map, but may also portray the country as one of the world’s leaders in the industry, she added.

“In line with the provisions of The Gambia Civil Aviation Act, 2004, it is my pleasure to present to you the annual activity report and financial authority of GCAA for the year ended 31 December 2014.”

During the period under review, the authority continued to discharge its main functions: regulating civil aviation and the air transport industry in The Gambia, Providing air navigation services and operating and managing Banjul International Airport.

“I am glad to report that in 2014, GCAA continued to live up to its billing as a leader in carrying out the above functions as per International Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPS).

“We continued to build on our success as a leading country in Africa and the Indian Ocean (AFI) Region in terms of aviation safety while at the airport, considering the increased global focus on aviation security necessitated by attacks on the industry in other parts of the world,” she said.