Friday, March 29, 2024

National airline still on the cards, says Mukanga after missing 24th October deadline

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Transport, Works, Supply and Communications Minister Yamfwa Mukanga (left) addresses new Zambia Railways Board members at his office as the new Board Chairperson Davies Chama looks on in Lusaka
Transport, Works, Supply and Communications Minister Yamfwa Mukanga
(left) addresses new Zambia Railways Board members at his office as
the new Board Chairperson Davies Chama looks on in Lusaka

Transport Minister Yamfwa Mukanga has revealed that Government has not abandoned plans to re-establish a national airline.

The PF Government missed its October 24 2014 deadline to unveil a new national flag carrier.

But Mr Mukanga said the plans are still on the table and that Government will at the right time release the details of the national airline and how it will operate.

“We have not abandoned those plans. If anything, we are progressing well. The process seems slow because we had to do a fresh Cabinet Memo so that we could get approval to proceed but we are still waiting for that item to come to Cabinet,” Mr Mukanga explained.

He added, “What happened is that the first Cab Memo needed to be revised, there were certain areas where we needed to work on and now we have done a second Cab Memo and we are waiting for a decision.”

Mr Mukanga said the PF Government is determined to ensure that a national flag carrier takes off to the skies as soon as possible.

He said Government has looked at various financing options and is still open to possibilities of partnerships with credible institutions to launch the airline.

23 COMMENTS

  1. Dreamer! It will never happen.

    At one time Mukanga was saying that they had reacher VERY advanced stages in the setting of the airline and a number of airlines were interested in partnering with government then we were told that cabinet had not yet been informed….. and now you are telling us that the plan has not yet been approved.

    2016 is just around the corner, keep on procrastinating, you will be packing together with your fruitless plans.

    • Mukanga is lying.

      This is very antagonistic to what he said last time that, ” we reached an advanced stage” when in fact not. PF is just a party of liars, who can’t survive without lying about everything. Even today, they stand for lies and imagining that Sata has gone for a “Medical check up”? PF lies day in and out, all time is lies.
      Mr Mukanga should not think that all people equitably “dullish” as he seems to be with the useful “ediyotts” like Kambwili GBM et al. Mukanga, must just admit that, PF has lambently failed to meet the deadline.
      PF amazes me, excuses all time, please stop making promises which you fail to fulfill. It’s taken 3 years for PF to release the draft constitution by force of people, instead of 90 days!
      19 months left for PF, or else 3 months.

    • Just abandon the plan. Govt cannot run any business. We don’t want to be taken back to the evil Kenneth Kaunda days. Another way of trying to siphon taxpayers’ money by the family forest and its tribesmen.

    • Just wake-up from that Airline dream.
      Now you have better priorities, to purchase boats and ferries to transport pupils across all lakes and rivers, starting with Lake Kariba.

    • National Airline is required to boast Tourism, But needs Innovation and Thinking outside the Box. If your approach is to let it operate in the likes of “Zambia Airways” with relatives flying for Free, Huge works Unions?? Then we are wasting people’s time and tax Papers Money. Look outside the region / Africa and aim to be different. Why the likes of Emirates have been so successful?? They Think-Innovate-Make opportunities?? 45,000 employees, good salary, less operating costs, very professional and draw crowds towards them.
      Yamfwa: Do you Maths properly and don’t fail Zambians. Government should not run it but should be Professionals.

  2. Self-sustainability please. Taxpayer’s money should go to needy areas such as education, health and agriculture. We have done without the so-called national airline since 1995. Let the private sector have the majority shareholding so that politics, which killed Zambia Airways, does not interfere. Look for strategic partners and keep government shares as low as 20%.

    Yes, national pride is important but not as important as food security, a health and educated population.

    I

    • @Let me say this
      You are 100% spot on and I need not add more. It’s a welcome venture as long as public funds stay well clear of the runway.

  3. It pains to be led by such a group of dull people.
    Even Mwaliteta wants to b a President.
    Pa Zed cha ‘opener ‘ !

  4. Abakali tabalanda!!!

    If you are going to do, just do it. Don’t keep telling us the same story for years and doing nothing! Atase!!!

  5. Wasting time with financing options when the real problem is yourselves. No investor can partner a PF run government because they simply lack credibility. Look at how many things you have failed to honor, which foolish investor will trust you if your own people don’t even believe you any more.

  6. LET IT NOT BE ANOTHER REFURBISHED ZRL COACHES AFTER A LONG WAIT. ATTANGA PROMISED NEW TRAINS (LOCOMOTIVE ENGINES AND COACHES). ALL WE GOT ARE REFURBISHED COACHES FROM THE RUBBISH HEAP.

  7. GRZ, DO YOU KNOW THAT THERE IS A FORMER ZAMBIA AIRWAYS EMPLOYEE WORKING FOR THE BOEING MANUFACTURING COMPANY AND NOT AS A SMALL BOY BUT ONE OF THE BIG BOSSES? YOU SHOULD BE CONTACTING ALL THESE PEOPLE FOR FIRST HAND INFORMATION. FOR THE SAKE OF HIS SECURITY, I AM NOT GONNA MENTION HIS NAME BUT YOU CAN CONTACT ME THROUGH DR NJOVU AT ZICAS OR THROUGH MY UNCLE AT NAPSA MR NYANJA AT SYSTEMS.

  8. Keep it up!!! The national airline is not an easy project. You must fulfill all the requirements. It is necessary to provide satisfactory answers to any question to guarantee an economic, safe and respected national airline of the future. Once beaten, twice shy …

  9. BY THE WAY MR MINISTER THE POST BOAT AT LAKE BANGWEULU HAS FOR A LONG TIME BEEN RUNNING ON ONE ENGINE INSTEAD OF TWO BECAUSE THE OTHER ONE KAPUT. DON’T YOU THINK ANOTHER DISASTER IS IN WAITING. INSTEAD OF 1-2 HOURS, THE BOAT TAKE 13HOURS TO TRAVEL A DISTANCE OF 100KM TO THE CHILUBI ISLANDS. SINCE I AM PRETTY SURE THERE’S NO COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE BOAT AND LAND/ISLANDS, HOW ARE YOU GONNA KNOW THAT PEOPLE HAVE ACTUALLY DIED ON LAKE? ARE WE SERIOUSLY PREPARING FOR TOURISM IN ZAMBIA? WHEN I MADE A PRESENTATION OF LAKE BANGWEULU AND WETLANDS MY DIRECTORS TOLD ME THAT JUST LAKE BANGWEULU CAN FEED ZAMBIA AND A FEW OTHER COUNTRIES. THEY WERE SHOCKED THAT NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO TURN THE PLACE INTO A WORLD CLASS TOURIST PLAYGROUND. IT TOOK THEM LONG TO BELIEVE IT WAS IN ZAMBIA.

  10. Really laughable. ..why doesn’t this empty tin forget about this wasteful idea…you are failing to invest in students through bursaries but you are hell bent in dropping our money in this black hole. It even defeats their argument for a wage freeze.

  11. Mr. Mukanga forget ablt the national airline we dont need it, it will be loss making and will not make our lives any better. The money for this project can better be utilized to solve the many challenges that our people are facing, the Kariba deaths are a good reminder of the need to re-invest in safer modes of water transport!

  12. It was easy to kill the one you had – now see. I don’t care what the reasons for killing your national airline was but late lawyer Sikatana warned you that that is not a bus company that you can easily constitute into a new outfit! Thinking twice before that move was about the best approach to use. NOW SEE…

  13. Good riddance, advise to mukanga is to think outside the box – create another plan on PPP basis to avoid a repeat of ZA

  14. Why can’t this man stop dreaming there is no money for such things which he will just mismanage at the end wasting our little resources useless minister

  15. THE IDEA OF A NATIONAL AIRLINE IS GOOD. BUT ARE WE ABLE TO SUSTAIN THIS IDEA? IF WE CANNOT CONTROL A MERE BOAT AND ALLOW IT TO CARRY 34 PEOPLE INSTEAD OF 14, DROWNING 25 OF THEM, HOW SURE ARE WE THAT WE HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO MANAGE AN AIRLINE? I THINK WE SHOULD NOT RUSH INTO THIS PROJECT UNTIL WE ARE SURE THAT IT WILL BE SUSTAINABLE.

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