The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) is the government agency responsible for licensing, monitoring, and regulating civil aviation matters in the country. It is administered by the Uganda Ministry of Works and Transport.[4]
| Company type | Parastatal |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aviation regulation |
| Founded | 1 July 1994 |
| Headquarters | Entebbe, Uganda |
Key people | Steven Kavuma Chairman[1] Fred Bamwesigye Director General[2] Olive Birungi Lumonya Deputy Director General.[3] |
| Website | Homepage |
Location
editThe authority's head offices are at Entebbe International Airport, approximately 49 kilometres (30 mi) south of Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda.[5] The coordinates of the CAA headquarters are 0°02'23.0"N, 32°26'53.0"E (Latitude:0.039722; Longitude:32.448056).[6]
Overview
editThe agency was created by an Act of Parliament in 1994 as a state agency of the Ministry of Transport, Housing and Communication. As of October 2016, it was under the Ministry of Works and Transport.
The mandate of the UCAA is to coordinate and oversee Uganda's aviation industry, including licensing, regulation, air search and rescue, air traffic control, ownership of airports and aerodromes, and implementation of Ugandan and international aviation law. It also represents Uganda in an international capacity within the aviation community and in all other aviation matters. As of October 2016, the UCAA managed Entebbe International Airport and 13 other airports across the country.[7]
Organization and operations
editAs of October 2016[update], the CAA works with an administrative and operational structure of six directorates: (1) Directorate of Airports and Aviation Security[8] (2) Directorate of Air Navigation Services[9] (3) Directorate of Safety, Security & Economic Regulation[10] (4) Directorate of Finance (5) Directorate of Human Resources & Administration (6) Directorate of Corporate Affairs[11]
Expansion plans
editIn January 2015, Minister of Works and Transport Abraham Byandala unveiled a 20-year plan to increase international airports from one to five and regional airports from two to three; and improve six existing local airports. The plan also calls for the improvement of Entebbe International Airport at a cost of US$200 million.[4][12] Another $200 million will be needed to complete the upgrades to the other airports.[13]
Governance
editThe acting chief executive officer and Director General is Fred Bamwesigye.[14] The chairman of the board of directors is Justice Steven Kavuma.[1] As of September 2023, the following are the members of the board of Uganda Civil Aviation Authority:[15] 1. Justice Steven Kavuma: Chairman 2. Ms. Ethel Kamba 3. Dr. Andrew Alyao Ocero 4. Thomas James Kiggundu 5. Moses Paul Lubowa 6. John Washington Bulindi 7. Ms Sylvia Namubiru 8. Godfrey Ssemugooma[15]
Name change
editIn July 2019, the President of Uganda signed The CAA Amendment Act 2019. The parliamentary act changed the name of the agency to Uganda Civil Aviation Authority.[16]
Certification and recognition
editIn September 2019, UCAA was awarded an international aviation award in air safety following outstanding performance in the Universal Security Audit Programme, conducted in 2017, by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Uganda scored 81.8 percent in the audit, compared with the global average of 73 percent and the African and Indian Ocean (APII) states average of 58 percent, according to ICAO.[14]
In October 2019, the International Trade Council, recognized the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority with the Government Agency of the Year Going Global Award 2019, in the Aviation Category. The award is in recognition of infrastructure improvement, staff training, customer care, support of tourism and facilitation of agricultural exports through Entebbe International Airport.[17][18]
In September 2023, UCAA together with Entebbe International Airport and Uganda Airlines underwent the ICAO Oversight Safety Audit.[19][20] Preliminary results indicate that Uganda scored 72.17 percent against the APII regional average of 55.66 percent and the global average of 67.68 percent. Detailed scores of this audit are expected to be released by ICAO in the second quarter of 2024.[21]
Developments
editAs of October 2024, Uganda had 57 active bilateral aviation safety agreements of which 26 were with African countries.[22]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b Anthony Wesaka (3 June 2020). "Justice Kavuma bounces back from retirement, appointed Aviation board chair". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- ^ Eve Muganga (1 October 2021). "Fred Bamwesigye appointed new UCAA boss". Daily Monitor. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
- ^ Isaac Mufumba (7 November 2021). "CAA gets new deputy director general". Daily Monitor. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ a b Tajuba, Paul (30 January 2015). "CAA unveils master plan to create four new international airports". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
- ^ "Distance Between Post Office Building, Kampala Road, Kampala, Uganda and Civil Aviation Authority, Entebbe, Central Region, Uganda" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ "Location of Uganda Civil Aviation Authority Headquarters, Entebbe, Uganda" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ Advertisement (26 May 2013). "Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) seeks to recruit several Ugandan". The Observer (Uganda). Kampala. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ CAA (22 October 2016). "Airports and Aviation Security". Entebbe: Civil Aviation Authority of Uganda (CAA). Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ^ CAA (22 October 2016). "Directorate of Air Navigation Services". Entebbe: Civil Aviation Authority of Uganda (CAA). Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ^ CAA (22 October 2016). "Uganda Civil Aviation Authority: Directorate of Safety, Security and Economic Regulation". Entebbe: Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ^ CAA (20 October 2016). "Uganda Civil Aviation Authority: Directorate of Corporate Affairs". Entebbe: Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ^ Mwesigwa, Alon. "Uganda: Airports To Generate USh8.5 Trillion Annually". The Observer (Uganda) via AllAfrica.com. Kapala. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ Tentena, Paul (1 February 2015). "Uganda aviation plan needs $400m". East African Business Week. Kampala. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
- ^ a b John Masaba (25 September 2019). "Uganda Wins International Aviation Award In Air Safety". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ a b ChimpReports (27 September 2023). "Uganda Civil Aviation Authority Gets New Board of Directors". ChimpReports. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ Dorothy Nakaweesi (9 July 2019). "Airline Regulator Changes Name". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ SoftPower Reporter (30 October 2019). "Uganda's Aviation Body Wins Global Award For Facilitating Trade". Kampala: SoftPower Uganda. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ^ Eve Muganga (30 October 2019). "Uganda's Aviation Authority Scoops 'Going Global' Award". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ^ George Asiimwe (7 September 2023). "ICAO to Audit Entebbe Airport Standards as Uganda Airlines Remain Locked out of UK Airspace". ChimpReports. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ The Independent Uganda (22 September 2023). "Uganda Airlines poised to end year on a high". The Independent (Uganda). Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ Sylivia Katushabe (29 September 2023). "Audit has ranked us highly, say Entebbe airport bosses". Daily Monitor. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ Eve Muganga (27 October 2024). "Uganda eyes expanded air routes after successful ICAN 2024 negotiations". Daily Monitor. Kampala, Uganda. Retrieved 27 October 2024.