By Pemphero Malimba:
The Parliamentary Committee on Commissions, Statutory Corporations and State Entities says it will summon Treasury officials after they failed to attend a Tuesday engagement on challenges facing the aviation sector.
Committee chairperson Silvester Ayuba James said this in an interview yesterday.
The committee had invited Treasury, Airport Development Limited (ADL) and the Comptroller of Statutory Corporations to discuss challenges affecting the sector, including a lack of landing equipment at the country’s airports.
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While ADL and the Comptroller of Statutory Corporations attended, Treasury officials were absent.
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James said the officials cited meetings with the International Monetary Fund as the reason for their absence.
“We are unable to come to a conclusion whether their failure to attend is in good faith or not,” he said.
ADL Chief Executive Officer Zione Themba said she believed the officials had valid reasons for their absence.
“We want to assure you that we will be available when you invite us. We presented our issues and they still stand. We will present them again when the Treasury is here,” Themba said.
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James said the lack of modern landing equipment at major airports needed to be addressed urgently to avert a potential disaster.
He said ADL had previously told the committee that a directive issued around 2022 or 2023 required foreign currency generated through landing fees from foreign airlines to be channeled to Account Number One.
According to James, the arrangement means ADL has to seek government funding whenever it needs money for maintenance or equipment.
