Chairperson and hon members, it is indeed an honour and a privilege to present to you the Civil Aviation Bill. Last year South Africa was audited and assessed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, and the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, of the United States of America. Both the ICAO audit and the FAA International Aviation Safety Assessment, IASA, reflected a finding which warranted the review, consolidation and harmonisation of our various pieces of civil aviation legislation, thus ensuring that it complies with international requirements.
As we may appreciate, given our past history, the core spine of our civil aviation legal foundation stems from the Aviation Act, Act 74 of 1962, an Act which is to date at the very least 46 years old. Civil aviation has certainly evolved over the past decades and has moved at a very fast pace and so too must its legislative framework; more so in the light of the tragic event of 9/11, the ongoing imminent global threat of terrorism and equally concerning the increase in the rate of civil aircraft disasters.
It is therefore on this platform that the department has concentrated its focus on ensuring that the three main Acts, the Aviation Act of 1962, the South African Civil Aviation Authority Act of 1998 and the Civil Aviation Offences Act of 1972 are all harmonised, consolidated, strengthened and modernised in one Act. This will ensure that we have a simple, single piece of aviation legislation, which addresses the needs of the aviation transport sector both on the domestic and international fronts, with a clear reporting line for the control and regulation of both the safety and security oversight for civil aviation headed by the Director of the South African Civil Aviation Authority.
This Bill empowers the director to issue technical standards for civil aviation on matters as may be prescribed by regulations from time to time.
In addition, and in keeping with the challenges we face on a daily basis, the Bill contains an expediency clause which allows for the director to call on the Minister to issue emergency regulations when there is an imminent or prevailing danger to the safety and security of the civil aviation industry. This is most necessary given the dastardly acts committed against aviation in recent times.
The Bill tabled today proposes to repeal, consolidate and amend aviation laws giving effect to certain International Aviation Conventions and it provides for the control and regulation of civil aviation within South Africa. This Bill further sets out to provide for the establishment of the South African Civil Aviation Authority and its objects, amongst other things, are to control, regulate and promote civil aviation safety and security, develop regulations that are required in terms of this Act and also monitor and ensure compliance with this Act and all conventions.
The CAA will have a board whose core mandate is to oversee and provide strategic direction for the corporate governance structures of the CAA in order to attain the objectives that have been mentioned. This board will also be tasked to monitor service standards and customer satisfaction and report to the Minister of Transport on any matter concerning such issues.
In line with international best practice, the Bill provides for the establishment of the independent Aviation Safety Investigation Board which is structured in compliance with the provisions and procedures of Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention, to which our country is a signatory.
I am pleased to note that the Aviation Safety Investigation Board is fully independent and that its members, staff, accredited representatives, experts and advisors must serve and execute their duties in an impartial and independent manner. They will also carry out their powers, duties and functions in good faith and, most importantly, without fear, favour, bias or prejudice and subject only to this Act and the Chicago Convection.
Unlawful, unruly behaviour and acts of terror targeted at the civil aviation sector must be dealt with decisively. This requires an ongoing preventative programme which sets out very clear parameters and deliverables on what is required of security at all our designated airports.
Annex 17 to the Chicago Convention, and the guidelines to the security manual, as populated for the Annex, require that each state must have within its administration a National Civil Aviation Security Programme,