CASSOA engaging Aviation stakeholders across the region
4th April 2019. EAC CASSOA Team has just concluded four missions in Partner States aiming at engaging Aviation stake holders on the matter of Agency’s sustainable funding mechanism. Republic of Burundi was the first country to host CASSOA Team followed by the Republic of Kenya, United Republic of Tanzania and the Republic of Uganda. Republic of South Sudan and Republic of Rwanda will be the next countries to be visited by the team.
The Board directed the Secretariat to undertake stakeholder consultations which would inform the final decision on the amount of the levy to be approved by the board. Civil Aviation authorities of a host country is expected to organize stakeholders who come from CAAs, Airport Authorities, Air Operators, Association of Air Operators, Consumer Protection council and Ministries (responsible for EAC/Transport/Treasury).
Article 15 of CASSOA Protocol States that the funds of the Agency shall be derived from;
a) Contributions by the Partner States through their respective Civil Aviation Authorities;
b) resources mobilized by the Community;
c) grants from regional and international bodies;
d) revenue from the activities of the Agency; and
e) any other sources as may be approved by the council.
The Agency is mainly funded by Partner States through their respective CAAs (85%) with additional minimal funding from the Development Partners funding (10%) and miscellaneous income from Agency Activities (5%).
The financial requirements of the Agency to implement the Strategic Plan effectively cover both the activities to be implemented and staffing costs which are based on proposed Staff Terms and Conditions of Service to be implemented as soon as possible to curb the high rate of staff turnover at the Agency
The Agency has considered various contribution mechanisms and proposes a contributory Funding Mechanism based on a passenger levy charged to all domestic and international embarking passengers in the Region’s airports. The passenger levy will be a minimal charge that will be levied at the point of sale of the ticket and collected by the Partner States and remitted to the Civil Aviation Authority for purposes of transmission to the Agency
EAC CASSOA Board which is the governing body of the Agency Considered and approved the proposal by Technical Committee (Finance & Administration) for the Agency’s sustainable funding mechanism to be funded through a passenger service charge and directed the Secretariat to undertake stakeholder consultations which would inform the final decision on the amount of the levy to be approved by the board
EAC CASSOA