Avoid hiring ATCL staff on political interests, govt told

Dar es Salaam. The government has been advised to properly use experts, reduce operational costs and avoid appointing staff on political interests if Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) has to grow.

Aviation stakeholders told BusinessWeek in separate interviews that the government intention of buying four aircraft by 2018 in an effort to review ATCL was good, but other factors should be taken into consideration to avoid throwing money down a rathole.

Swissport chief executive officer Gaudence Temu said the aviation industry had a shortage of experts and it was important to use them well.

“The aviation industry is struggling. It is short of pilots and engineers,” he said.

“For us to succeed we need commitment, value experts and avoid making appointments basing on political interests,” he said.

More experts are needed. Those people in management should be appointed based on merits, according to him. “We can get experts by hiring them locally and internationally.”

Aviation consultant Jimray Nangawe told BusinessWeek that it was proper for the government to utilise resources optimally for ATCL to prosper.

“Manpower in the sector is very expensive and calls for the government to utilise professionals optimally to get the value for money,” noted Mr Nangawe, who worked for Rwanda Airways, Precision Air and Kenya Airways.

He also said the government needed to carefully look at the cost structure on the ground of network planning to identify market opportunities.

According to him, opportunities range from competitive environment and maximising revenue with a minimum cost.

Lower unit cost, is also to be considered by the government through optimising the utilisation of aircraft, he explained.

He mentioned other factors that should be taken into consideration as the market segmentation and the use of appropriate global distribution systems.

On top of that the introduction of better and affordable system of booking and collection is needed. That means appropriate investment in modern technology. More passengers should use direct ways of booking whenever possible to reduce the number of middlemen.

Mr Nangawe also suggested new staff should be recruited for ATCL to have a new infusion of ideas. “The right way to deal with dead wood is to give them targets. When failing to perform, they have to be sent home.”

Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority director general Hamza Johari is optimistic that the buying of new aircraft will turn around ATCL fortunes.

“We have strategies of addressing the shortage of experts in the industry,” he noted. Mr Johari, who has been in the aviation industry for 11 years, said one of the strategies in solving the problem is through a training fund.

Air operators are supposed to contribute money for training people in the industry, according to him.

He said through the fund, five people had been sponsored to undergo pilot studies in South Africa and others would pursue similar courses.

To help tackle the problem, the National Institute of Transport’s School of Aviation is offering engineering and pilot courses.

“With those strategies in place, I’m optimistic the shortage of experts in the industry will end, “Mr Johari said.

He commended the government for its efforts to rescue ATCL.

“The purchase of four aircraft for Air Tanzania will the increase the number airliners operating in the country and hence increase competition,” he noted.

President John Magufuli has spoken on several occasions of his desire to enable the cash-making flag-carrier to buy planes to fly to more destinations and reduce dependence on foreign aircraft.

But a report by the Controller and Auditor General released last week painted a grim picture of the airline and suggested that reviving ATCL must go beyond buying a couple of planes or injecting more cash.

ATCL is not airworthy, not least because it lacks airlines and airworthiness certifications such as IATA Operational Safety Audit Certification. But because of extremely poor management and inadequate workforce as well as lack of a strategy to show whether the 30-year-old airline can survive in the current market.

ATCL has an accumulated loss of Sh137 billion in nine years since the end of the South African Airways partnership in 2007. Moreover it has a debt of Sh111 billion.

And because of financial distress it cannot adequately meet its operational costs such as maintenance of equipment, lease or buying of new ones and recruit skilled workers.

But the worst fact is the fact that the national airline has no any turnaround strategy.

The company’s strategic plans are also poorly conceived and inconsistent.

“Our review of the company’s two strategic plans -- 2007 to 2012 and 2015 to 2020 -- have not indicated any prospect of turning the Company from the current financial distress,” the CAG report indicates.