ANGOLA PARTICIPATES IN THE 37TH MEETING OF THE SASO INSTITUTIONAL WORKING GROUP

Silas Chichaya, SASO President of the Republic of Zimbabwe's representative under the rotating presidency of SADC, highlighted in his speech the fundamental and strategic role of the regional organisation in the development of civil aviation, as well as emphasising the importance of the presence and contribution of Member States' experts in areas such as Human Resources, Finance, Marketing and Legal, emphasising the need for collaboration in order to formulate robust recommendations, which will be presented to CAC for approval on March 19th.

The agenda for the meeting included the Three-Year Financial Plan and Budget Estimates from 2025/26, Implementation of the SASO Work Plan for 2024/25, Work Plan Proposal for 2025/26, SASO Investment Plan, Proposal Roadmap for the Implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), Proposal for SASO Performance Management Policy, Filling the Vacant Position of Deputy Executive Director, Secondment of the IT Expert and Legal Adviser.

 During the sessions, the need for member states to quickly implement their corrective action plans was reinforced in order to increase the percentage of Effective Implementation (IE). The goal is to have countries conducting International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Coordinated Validation Missions (ICVMs) within two years. In this context, Angola was praised for being set to conduct its ICVM audit in the second half of 2025, a fundamental step towards the region achieving an EI level above 70 per cent. 

Regarding the engagement of member states that have not yet joined the SASO Charter - Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles - diplomatic efforts to secure their accession continue, with significant progress in negotiations with Mauritius.

Delegations representing the member states of Angola, South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, DRC and Tanzania took part in the working meeting. The Angolan delegation was formed by members of the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC), under the leadership of the Administrator for Finance, Rebeca Manuel.

The IWG meeting, which takes place biannually in person, aims to bring together member states to evaluate achievements and identify opportunities for improving civil aviation at regional level.