Mrs. Dzifa Attivor, Deputy Minister of Transport, on Tuesday observed that the aviation industry was rapidly changing, thus giving rise to the need to constantly train staff to meet the challenges of the industry.
"The Aviation Industry is not where people can find quick fix solutions to problems through guess work. We need to develop a competent human capital base to achieve the highest form of safety and security."
Mrs Attivor said this when she opened a training programme under the "Albert Aidoo Taylor's Scholarship" award in Accra.
The scholarship was established in 2008 by the Air Traffic Navigation Services (ATNS) of South Africa in honour of the Director of Air Traffic Service of the GCAA, Mr Albert Aidoo Taylor, for his immense contribution in championing the course of Africa in the area of aviation.
Each year, a country is nominated for this award by Mr Albert Taylor.
Ghana has been nominated for the year 2010 award and therefore 20 participants from the GCAA and the Ghana Air-force will be trained in Air Traffic Management.
Mrs Attivor said it was interesting to note that there were concerns about the safety of Africa's aviation to the extent that its air space had been classified as "risky".
"Our skies would be guaranteed as safe when personnel with the necessary qualifications are recruited and adequately trained to perform
effectively and efficiently in the management of our air-space", she said.
Mrs Attivor commended Mr Albert Taylor, whose singular achievement in the Aviation industry both in Ghana and Africa "had won for the GCAA and the nation as a whole, this important Scholarship Award, whose fruits we are
witnessing today".
On behalf of the Government of Ghana, she also expressed appreciation to the ATNS for "honouring this patriotic son of Ghana and for coming all the way from South Africa to run this course free of charge for the GCAA, as
part of the Scholarship Award." She urged participants to reap the maximum benefits from it.
The Director General of the GCAA, Air Commodore Kwame Mamphey, who chaired the occasion, said regional cooperation and collaboration remained the bedrock of meeting customer satisfaction and achieving safe, economic, environmentally conscious and socially responsible aviation services.
He said Ghana had always been a torchbearer of many African initiatives and that South Africa having emerged from its past, had become one of the key leaders and a champion of African programmes, particularly in the aviation sector.
Air Commodore Mamphey recalled that Ghana and South Africa had a long history of cooperation in the Aviation sector.
"We hope that the award of the 2010 Albert Taylor Scholarship to the GCAA would further deepen our relations and open up further areas for cooperation. We have a common clarion call to project the African Aviation sector globally," he added.
Mr Taylor observed that Africa did not lack initiatives. "We have rather failed to develop our capacity to enjoy the taste of our own
products, and patronize African creativity," he added.
"I believe it is all about being passionate for African relationships and capacity building," said Mr Taylor, who expressed gratitude to the
Governments of Ghana an South Africa, as well as the ATNS for considering him as the torch- bearer of an important regional project".