THROUGH MY LENSES - How long can ill –fated aircrafts take a toll on our loved ones?

May 12, 2008 (NSV) - Shock and awe gripped South Sudan early this month when 21 South Sudanese, including Dr. Justin Yaac Arop and Major General Dominic Dim Deng, died in a plane crash. Dr Yaac, presidential Advisor for Decentralization in South Sudan, and General Dim, SPLA Affairs Minister, died with their beloved wives along with 17 citizens and SPLA officers. The tragedy brought back the horrifying memories of the shocking news of the death of Sudan 1st Vice President and President of South Sudan Dr.John Garang in 2005.

Despite the consoling adage that “God gives and takes,” I think He never replaces the uniqueness that He assigns to an individual He creates. In addition to having left a huge vacuum in the lives of their loved ones, Dr Yaac’s and General Dim’s roles in the liberation of South Sudan will be missed during this critical stage. Like Dr Garang and his other late comrades, Dr Yaac and General Dim have been robbed by death from us before harvesting and putting the grains to the granary, an analogy which the late Dr Yaac himself cited in 2000 during the memorial service of late Sudanese veteran politician Samuel Aru Bol in Nairobi.

Speaking in Juba during the memorial of the victims, President Kiir was quoted by the New Sudan Vision as saying that “southern Sudan has experienced cases of air crash repeatedly and that something must be done to curb more deaths,” adding that aeroplanes operating in “Southern Sudan are the types not allowed from entering any national capital.” That is a positive gesture from the President. The public expects the government to set air safety standard to minimize air tragedies.

According to a record by Aviation Safety Network, two out of seven aeroplanes that crashed in the last one month were operating in the Sudan. Indeed, Sudan is among the countries in the world where some airlines do not meet operational air safety measures as she is still operating unsafe aircrafts. On March 10, 2007, the New Europe, a weekly European publication, reported that “The European Union on March 5 banned airlines from Pakistan and Sudan from landing at European airports because of a failure to meet EU safety standards.”

In Africa, according to International Air Transport Association, South Africa Airways, Kenya Airways and Egypt Air were able to meet operational safety audits out of 39 African Airlines, as of 2006. According to Business Day, Africa accounts for 4% of the global air traffic; however, 27% of the air accidents occur on the African continent. This does not come as a surprise as Africa has become a dumping ground for ancient aircrafts. 74 of 91 airlines banned by EU in 2007 are from Africa, according to the BBC.

In 2007, William Voss, president of the US based Flight Safety Foundation, blamed such rampant air accidents in Africa on “lack of quality personnel, appropriate working,” or “wholesale disregard for safety.” Voss also said, “Poverty, war and corrupt governance,” are responsible for poor air safety on the continent. He also cited what he called “little government oversight,” where airlines conduct their business without strict safety measures from the governments, as one of the problems.

Safety of our citizens should be on top of our budget. In addition to equipping her airports with up to date state of the art air safety facilities, South Sudan should ensure the safety of her citizens by banning airlines that do not observe safety measures. Our government owes us a lot in ensuring safety. When the USA suffered some of the most tragic crashes that killed 375 people in 1996, a commission, led by the then Vice President Al Gore, was set up to reduce air tragedies by 80% over a period of ten years. In 2006, the New York Times reported that air accidents in the USA have dropped by 65%.

It is not too late for South Sudan to do something to control air accidents that have become our enemy number one. Just imagine, how long can these ill-fated aircrafts take toll on loved ones?

The writer is a member of the New Sudan Vision Management Team