In what looks at ping pong game, seasoned Ugandan pilot, Capt. Mike Mukula has hit back at the management of Civil Aviation Authority whom he said are incompetent and the body needs an overhaul.
On Wednesday, in a response to claims of denying his pilot school an operating license, the CAA said the school doesn’t meet the International aviation requirements.
However, addressing journalists on Thursday at Sheraton Hotel, Mukula presented a number of documents he claims were issued by officials from CAA in regard to the requirements needed but noted that management at the Ugandan aviation body are not knowledgeable about what they are doing.
“The aviation industry all over the world is the most regulated but the whole of CAA is incompetent. They don’t have any qualified professional head of department,” Mukula noted.
Quoting the International Civil Aviation Organization report of 2013, the seasoned pilot said CAA was found to be inconsistent in implementation of international standards.
“CAA was found to have insufficient number of qualified personnel and needs assistance in the conduct of national aviation human resource. The audit by ICAO clearly shows that out of the 8 key performance indicators, CCA was below standards in many areas. They are the same people saying I don’t meet the required standards.”
Mukula noted that the CAA had themselves issued him with an air services license dated June,2015 and signed by both the Director of Safety, Security and Economic Regulations S. Muneeza and Dr.Ram Kuuza, the Managing Director; certificate of registration and certificate of incorporation among other requirements, stressing he is surprised they are now claiming he lacks the requirements.
He says it is absurd that the process for licensing which takes 10 days in Kenya has taken over 3 years for Uganda’s aviation body to finalize adding that the dilly darling has cost many businessmen a lot of money.
According to Mukula, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and South Sudan have Boeing aircrafts that carry luggage and passengers and in return boost the economy of the country but Uganda has only a 16 seater plane.
“Kenya has over 32 private flying schools but for Uganda, the only one we are supposed to have is not yet cleared by the aviation body. How come we have only one international airport that even doesn’t meet standards yet other countries have more than one? What is the CAA doing about this state of affairs?”
The furious Mukula said the country loses a lot of money through training of pilots at the Soroti flying school as most of the products end up working for foreign countries because of absence of national and locally owned private aircraft.
“I am among the few individuals in the country who own aircrafts but it is absurd that we are not looked at as a blessing by CAA. We shall not keep quiet not until we have seen a fundamental change in the aviation body.”
Mukula said he has compiled a file detailing the flaws by the Civil Aviation Authority that he is set to table before the speaker of parliament Hon. Rebecca Kadaga and later President Museveni.