Aviation up in arms with DCA

THE request by Namibian authorities to have an airworthiness expert replaced at the Directorate of Civil Aviation has exposed the rift between the aviation industry and the DCA.

‘To save us a lot of embarrassment, he should be reinstated. We need his expertise,’ a respected pilot and aviation industry member said yesterday. He was referring to Tony Domoney, the airworthiness expert appointed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) at the request of the Namibian Government 17 months ago.’We are bluffing the outside world. Because ICAO is here, everyone thinks the industry is OK,’ he added. The industry has said that Domoney’s removal was the last straw that could break the camel’s back, and a source said that ‘the DCA is now even worse off without Domoney’.Last week The Namibian reported that Domoney’s contract with ICAO was prematurely and suddenly terminated. Domoney was informed by ICAO that they had received ‘notification from the authorities in Namibia … indicating they are strongly recommending a replacement with regard to your position.’The aviation community was shocked and a source yesterday said that they believed Domoney had ‘inadvertently’ caused consternation at top Ministry and DCA levels with his refusal to keep silent on critical issues facing the DCA.Since Domoney’s exit at the DCA, several individuals in the aviation industry have come forward and said they are fed up with the ‘chaos and mess’ at the supervisory authority. According to them, the DCA has barely been hanging on, but with the presence of the ICAO team things briefly looked up. Currently, only two of the originally five-strong team of ICAO experts are still active at the DCA.Domoney is said to have played a pivotal role in bringing the aviation industry closer to the DCA and paving the way forward for the industry. ‘Tony did very good work. He did much more than required. That is why the industry is so upset that he is being replaced. And the way it was done, it was so unprofessional and amateurish.’’With Tony gone, there is a big vacuum now,’ a concerned pilot said. Another supporter of Domoney said: ‘He is very well respected. He is an expert, and we need to keep him, in order to keep the industry in order’. With only two ICAO team members still attached to the DCA, the industry is concerned about the future of the industry in Namibia.The industry’s issues with the DCA have been dragging on for more than a decade, and many believe that the ICAO project, which has cost millions, has failed because of a lack of resources, particularly qualified staff, provided to ICAO for training.’The whole administration at the DCA is a mess. There is questionable leadership at the DCA,’ The Namibian was informed last week.According to sources, although the industry has been requested to be transparent, ‘there is a lot of fear in the industry of a backlash, if anyone complains’.The industry also has issues with a Kenyan national, Onyango Waryaro, who is employed at the DCA.The industry has registered numerous complaints about Waryaro’s attitude towards the industry as a whole. In 2009, Waryaro received a slap on the wrist from Permanent Secretary George Simaata, who addressed his ‘work attitude and failure to display team spirit’ at the DCA.Among other things, Simaata noted that Wayaro refused to support requests from ICAO and did not act in an ‘open and transparent’ manner with the industry.Letters in possession of The Namibian indicate that Wayaro was involved in several internal DCA conflicts. Angeline Simana Paulo, acting Director in the Directorate of Civil Aviation, wrote in a memo in late August 2009 that ‘given Mr Onyango’s [Wayaro’s] negative attitude working as a team and his propensity to denigrate his fellow workers and seniors, his overall performance is disappointing in my view’.In addition, letters written to the Ministry suggest that the aviation industry is worried that Waryaro ‘does not realise the economic implications of his mindset and creates the impression that he is exercising his personal agenda that can ultimately lead to uninvited embarrassment to Government’.Criticism against Simana Paulo’s role at the DCA is based primarily on her lack of aviation background.’Angeline is never there and she doesn’t remotely have the background that a DCA director requires’. The source furthermore said that because of Paulo’s lack of aviation background, she has delegated obligations and decision-making to subordinates, which has led to ‘chaos’ at the DCA.Sources said the appointment of the ICAO team 18 months ago was to address the issues of a lack of qualified inspectors and ‘archaic’ regulations. However, the industry believes that the ICAO team was forced to ‘physically run the place’ on a day-to-day basis, and the initial reasons for their appointment were side-lined as a result.’The first step should have been to employ people to train. But more have left in the meantime, than come in.’Henk Mudge, a politician with a vested interest in the aviation industry as a pilot and aircraft owner, confirmed last week that he had been in talks with various people at the Ministry of Works and Transport since the replacement of Domoney, and had expressed the industry’s concern about the state of the DCA.He described the situation at the DCA as a ‘total mess’ and said if the DCA should be audited now, they would fail the audit. Air Namibia could be grounded as a result of being blacklisted by civil aviation authorities worldwide.Simana Paulo and Simaata are currently out of the country and could not be reached for comment.