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Conrad Mwanawashe Business Reporter
AFRICAN airlines are racing to ratify a decade and half old agreement that seeks to promote the indigenisation and liberalisation of African skies in terms of access, capacity, frequency, and tariffs in order to induce connectivity within Africa.

To date 17 African countries, including Zimbabwe, have ratified the Yamoussoukro Decision which says that liberalisation of international air markets could see African countries growing Gross Domestic Product while increasing the number of passengers for their airlines.

The Yamoussoukro Decision of 1999 committed the 44 signatory countries to deregulating air services and to promoting regional air markets opening to transnational competition.

The implementation of this agreement has, however, been slow and limited, negatively affecting the potential benefits of liberalising intra-African air markets.

A research commissioned by the International Air Transport Association titled Transforming Intra-African Air Connectivity: The Economic Benefits of Implementing the Yamoussoukro Decision; highlights that aviation has the potential to make an important contribution to economic growth and development within Africa.

IATA commissioned InterVISTAS Consulting Ltd to undertake the study to examine the impacts of liberalising intra-African air markets. The study involved modelling the transmission mechanisms by which liberalisation leads to greater air connectivity, resulting in increased traffic volumes and ultimately generating wider economic benefits.

Air transport can open and connect markets, facilitating trade and enabling African firms to link into global supply chains.

Aviation currently contributes about $80 billion to Africa’s GDP and about 6,7 million jobs but more could be realised if all countries fully implement the Yamoussoukro Decision, Air Zimbabwe acting chief executive Edmund Makona said.

More importantly, the implementation of the agreement could see new jobs created apart from increase in the number of passengers by about five million.

That way, African airlines could see growth and increase profitability.

“We need more people. We need passengers,” said Mr Makona.

“With a continent with one billion people constituting about 12 percent of the global population, there is every reason that everybody else must be flying. We must make flying affordable to our people. It is no longer a luxury,” said Mr Makona.

“If you want to fly to West Africa today you have to go through Europe. What does that mean? We are externalising. But as African airlines we are saying our resources must remain here (in Africa),” he said.

The IATA research took 12 countries in Africa, three from each region, north, Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria, West Africa, Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria, East Africa Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya and southern Africa, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa.

“From that it was noted that if Africans implement the Yamoussoukro Decision of 1999 which essentially calls for the indigenisation of African skies by African airlines in order to induce connectivity within Africa, that would contribute 155 200 extra jobs to these twelve countries, $1,3 billion in GDP for the 12 countries and an additional five million passengers.

“I am glad to note that Zimbabwe was one of the 11 countries that made a solemn commitment to the full and unconditional implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision. To date we now have 17 African countries that have committed to such implementation,” said Mr Makona.

Furthermore, the IATA research found out that liberalisation of international air markets has provided substantial benefits for passengers and for the wider economy. For example, one study of the EU single aviation market found that liberalisation had greatly increased competition on many routes, had resulted in many more new routes operating, and had led to a 34 percent decline in discount fares in real terms.2

Furthermore, other studies have demonstrated a link between increased air traffic and growth in employment and GDP. For example, one study estimated that each 10 percent increase in international air services led to a 0,07 percent increase in GDP, which can translate into millions (or even billions) of dollars of incremental GDP.

It has been noted that where African nations have liberalised their air markets, either within Africa or with the rest of the world, there have been substantial positive benefits, for example, the agreement of a more liberal air market between South Africa and Kenya in the early 2000s led to 69 percent rise in passenger traffic.

Allowing the operation of a low cost carrier service between South Africa and Zambia (Johannesburg-Lusaka) resulted in a 38 percent reduction in discount fares and 38 percent increase in passenger traffic.

Ethiopia’s pursuit of more liberal bilaterals (on a reciprocal basis) has contributed to Ethiopian Airlines become one of the largest and most profitable airlines in Africa.

Research has found that on intra-African routes with more liberal bilaterals, Ethiopians benefit from 10-21 percent lower fares and 35-38 percent higher frequencies (compared to restricted intra-Africa routes).

“In other words by the non implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision African airlines are denying their populations and nations of an opportunity to be on an aircraft, these extra five million passenger,” said Mr Makona.