South Africa will once again serve world aviation as a member of the Governing Council after being re-elected in the Plenary vote held on Saturday (1 October 2022).
The Southern African nation was elected at the 41st International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly in Montreal, Canada.
The voting process got underway in the morning for Part II of the three-Part Council with South Africa garnering 151 votes, the fourth highest in Part II voting, to retain the Council seat first gained in 2003.
The South African Delegation is being led by the Deputy Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga.
Our election is an achievement not only for South Africa but for the continent, and the industry as we will continue to lead, support, and execute the objectives and mandates as set by the ICAO statutes,” said Chikunga.
Our contribution to the world in the sector speaks volumes just as the voting showed. South Africa will continue in playing a role that drives the advancement and the fruition of the civil aviation sector.
“We will also continue in doing our work alongside our neighbouring states, where South Africa offers the necessary support that contributes towards the socio-economic benefit of the industry.
All 193 Member States of the ICAO convene once every three years to, among other responsibilities:
· Elect the Member States to be represented on the Council.
· Review in detail the work of the Organization in the technical, administrative, economic, legal, and technical cooperation fields, where it has the power to approve amendments to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago, 1944) that are subject to ratification by Member States.
The Governing Council consists of 36 Member States where some of the key responsibilities are to oversee the finances of ICAO, define the duties of the various Committees, and to appoint their members.
It also has the duty of adopting International Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and numerous additional functions of carrying out the directives of the Assembly.
This 41st Assembly is the first Seating since the Covid-19 outbreak, where some of the focal conversations concentrate on matters of economic recovery of the sector and environmental factors, aviation safety, and security Working Papers.
