23
T H I S D AY • FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016
BUSINESSWORLD
AVIATION
TEFFERRA: WEST AFRICA STILL SUFFERS FROM AIR CONNECTIVITY GAPS Africa should not be a consumer base for the global economy; Africa should be an economic player in the global economy. Africa should be an economic player, playing an active role in the global economy. African airline should have a fair share of the travel and tour from Africa and that is what we are aiming to tap into.
in East Africa, why is it that ground handling here is 30 - 40 percent more expensive here, why is that the same aircraft fuel as I know that the aircraft consume everywhere is 20- 30 percent more expensive here. So the environment is prohibitive; it is not conducive for business growth and on top of that you have taxation. The taxation regime which considers aviation not as a strategic sector which enables trade, investment, tourism, and economic development and integration but merely as a luxury sector, as a cash cow. With that mindset, aviation in this part of the world will have difficulty in providing initial air connectivity. It is not conducive, we can learn from what Singapore did, what Dubai did and what others did, so we have a growing economy in this region, young population, this is the region that has the highest demographics in terms of the population size and a fast emerging middle class, and these are the people that have the ability to travel with disposable income. So why are we hindering it and hindering aviation from playing its rightful role? It can be a catalyst, aviation today is responsible for eight million jobs directly or indirectly in the continent, which could be much more, because it contributes significantly to the GDP of the continent, it could be much more, though it is much already. Imagine what it could be if all these restrictions and obstacles are removed. If you opportunity to address the political leaders of West Africa and Africa on these issues, what are the key things you will say to them? What I have said now, remove all barriers and restrictions for African airlines to operate freely to your airport? If am an African carrier, I should be able to operate freely anywhere I want in Africa, just like an European carrier operate freely on the European airspace or in Europe; two, treat aviation as a strategic assets, as an enabler of economic growth because it is only through aviation you can develop and encourage trade, investment, tourism and development in your country. You can have airport taxes and charges that are not prohibitive for the development for the growth of aviation. Any plan to operate long haul destination?
Which country gives you more passengers currently? Obviously is Nigeria, because of the market size, Nigeria is by far the biggest economy, by far has the highest population. The volume of the population with disposable income is high and Nigerian are very industrious people, people who do a lot of business, a lot of trade and you also have a lot of companies and organisations based in Nigeria like ECOWAS, so naturally is Nigeria to all the networks, Dakar is a big market for Nigeria, Abidjan is a big market for Nigeria, all over the network are big market for Nigeria. How fulfilled are you with the success of the airline? As I said, this is the beginning, the success is a small one, Africa needs strong African airlines that can work together and tap into the African market, which is currently being dominated by non-African carriers, which should not be. As far as I am concerned, Asky is managed by Ethiopian Airlines. Ethiopian is the strategic partner of Asky, manages the airline and provides the technical and commercial support and it also has equity in the airline, I was seconded by Ethiopian Airlines to manage Asky and previously, before coming here, I was vice president at Ethiopian Airlines in charge of strategy, alliance and communications. Tefferra
Yes we are planning to start the major market for West African region, which are London and Paris, now that our regional network is strong with 23 destinations covered; I think we are talking about our second phase of our development where we are looking at starting long haul flights to Europe Did you envisage the kind of growth and acceptance you are witnessing with the airlines when you started this operation?
It was something that was planned, but the growth exceeded our expectations, it is something that we worked hard for, but it is only the beginning, in the West African region, the airlines are very small even the so called big ones, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenyan Airways, South African Airways, everybody put together, we are merely 20 percent of the long haul market from Africa, merely we are in infancy of aviation, but there is a promise because Africa is growing as Africans are travelling more and more, but
How do you feel about the award as Balofon Aviation personality in West Africa? Like any successful endeavor, it is a collective endeavor; it is the work of everybody. Those in operation, those in the back office are all collective effort, both management and employees working together in synergy for unity of purpose and direction to make the airline successful. It is humbling and also a privilege for us to be recognised. It shows that we are getting something and also to use it as a stepping-stone to further develop the airline and achieve even greater heights.
NITDA’s Taraba Smart CIMA and AICPA to StarTimes Enhances City Project Gets Global Form New Association Nova Bouquets with cast ballots voting in favour. Eromosele Abiodun Recognition Additional Channels Work to create the Association
The Jalingo Smart City Tracking and Monitoring project, designed and implemented under the tutelage of the Smart City initiative of the National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA, has been globally recognised. The project was awarded the Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC), $10,000 Leadership Prize at the just- concluded Smart City Innovation Summit in Austin, Texas, United States. The Internet of Things (IoT)based solution, offers hope to thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Jalingo, Taraba State. It has a medium and long term plan to implement the solution throughout the North eastern region. The project will also provide more accurate data to government agencies and support groups as well as enable citizens receive quicker and better quality response before, during and after displacements. The GCTC is a collaborative platform enabling local governments, non-profits academic institutions, technologists and private corporations from all over the world to form project teams or “Action Clusters” in order to work on groundbreaking Internet of Things applications within the smart city environment.
Across the country, GCTC Action Clusters are working to address the country’s most pressing problems in the areas of transportation, public safety, health, education, waste management, internal revenue collection and so much more. The Jalingo IoT based IDP Tracking and Monitoring System Action Cluster consists of the NITDA, Hope Afresh Foundation Jalingo, Jalingo Local Government Council, IDEA Hub, Land Gate Consultancy and a host of telecommunications companies in Nigeria. Since its formation, the project has completed the Geographic Information System Mapping of Jalingo Local Government to identify areas without mobile network coverage. More features on the drawing board include a mobile application for receiving and sending messages and clearing house for data analytics. The project also includes a social infrastructure component which covers education and skill development for children and other vulnerable groups. Receiving the Leadership prize on behalf of Jalingo Project Team Lead, the Head, e-Government at NITDA, Mrs. Grace Amaefula and Nigeria Smart City Initiatives Programme Lead.
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) are joining forces to create a new association that would represent the breadth of the accounting profession. The new Association plans to become the most influential professional accounting body in the world, and will represent 600,000 current and next-generation professionals. CIMA in a statement said: “The association has been designed to complement rather than replace both constituent organisations – so while it will bring extra weight and influence to CIMA, CIMA’s existing structure and Royal Charter will remain, and CIMA will retain its management accounting focus. “CIMA and the AICPA members will retain membership of their existing member organisation but will gain additional membership of the new Association. The decision to create the Association was taken after both organisations’ member bodies voted to endorse the move in ballots which concluded on June 16. 89.7 per cent of CIMA members voting endorsed the resolution, with 86.5 per cent of AICPA members who
will begin straight away, and it will launch in 2017.” CIMA’s President Andrew Miskin said: “We live in a time of rapid change and increasing competition. Responding to this, I am delighted that CIMA and the AICPA members have endorsed the proposal to create a new association so that we can stay ahead of market changes and developments. We will build on the history and strengths of both CIMA and the AICPA, which will enable us to accelerate our strategy, and to expand the opportunities for CGMAs around the world.” He added that the formation of the Association represents a deepening of the joint venture that CIMA and the AICPA have operated since 2011, “which has expanded management accounting within the USA, and created a new global designation, Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).” CIMA’s outgoing President Myriam Madden commented: “This has been a year of focus. Throughout this process we have maintained an open dialogue with our members to better understand their professional needs and the world-class services required to deliver greater recognition and employability.
Emma Okonji
Digital TV Company, StarTimes Nigeria, has revamped one of its four bouquets on its Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform, Nova Bouquet, to include three more channels. The additional channel is a strategic move to further improve its rich entertainment to budget-conscious subscribers and offer them better value for their money. Marketing Director, StarTimes Nigeria, Oludare Kafar, said the new offering which would give StarTimes subscribers on Nova Bouquet access to watch and enjoy three more channels, namely Wazobia TV, Wap TV and Liberty TV, further reiterates the company’s commitment to provide Nigerians with quality entertainment they can afford. “Nova bouquet is designed as the most affordable Digital TV bouquet which gives access to value for money customers to enable seamless connection to digital TV and enjoy exciting entertainment at a very affordable rate which suits their lifestyle. We have refreshed the bouquet to include three more channels, including Wazobia TV, Wap TV and Liberty TV and further opened access to more entertainment, drama, talk show, music and lifestyle
shows,” he said. Kafar added that the bouquet now comes with over 30 channels, including popular channels like Orisun, NTA Sports 24, ST Dadin Kowa, ST Zone, Emmanuel TV, ST Sports Focus and ST Music, with monthly subscription reviewed to N800. Subscribers to the bouquet, he said, will enjoy a wide selection of movies, sports, news, music, lifestyle shows and series both local and international. He further announced that for parents who are always seeking decent and inspiring entertainment for kids as they proceed on vacation, StarTimes would offer wide range of kids channels with wholesome entertainment like Nickelodeon, Jim Jam, Baby TV, Jyb TV, PoP, Da Vinci Learning and many more on its very affordable bouquets. StarTimes is the leading digital-TV operator in Africa, covering 80 per cent of the continent’s population with a massive distribution network of 200 brand halls, 3,000 convenience stores and 5,000 distributors. StarTimes owns a featured content platform, with 440 authorised channels consisting of news, movies, series, sports, entertainment, children’s programmes, fashion and religion, among others.