March 2019 | www.sayer.com
64
GENERAL
aviation is inextricably intertwined
with economic issues. Indeed, the
fortunes of aircraft owners and pilots
seem to follow the exaggerated swings of
the country’s economic fortunes.
Sadly, there seems to be little information
forthcoming from the ANC leadership that
will boost optimism for aircraft owners and
pilots. Regulatory inroads into private ying
continue to make it more expensive and
time-consuming, leading to the view that
fewer and fewer hours are being own by
private pilots and operators.
Government policy is still on a path of
fostering social division, making further
inroads into property rights; and government
spending continues on an upward trajectory
into dangerously uncharted territory. A
consultation with well-known economist
Dawie Roodt indicates that state spending
drastically exceeds growth and that
Mboweni’s wildly optimistic spending cuts
are politically impossible.
The small R23-billion annual bailout for
Eskom can also not possibly slow the power
utility’s headlong spiral into the black hole of
collapse. The impact of power shortages on
industry and resulting growing social unrest
is incalculable.
Interestingly, Roodt’s view is that the
electorate should not bother to ght the ANC
government too hard, even in the upcoming
elections: they are doing a better job than
anyone else of cooking their own goose.
AOPA’S FORTUNES
By contrast, AOPA South Africa has
had quite a good year, despite some
considerable opposition by the regulator and
some industry entities.
Membership has been fairly stable.
New memberships roughly equal those who
have left the association, ill health being
the main reason for leaving. Membership
fee collections are, as is usually the case
with such associations, not very good. So,
please settle your accounts!
As the Treasurer’s report indicates,
AOPA South Africa’s nances, though very
modest, are also stable.
Back in 2016, we experimented with
the concept of fund-raising through public
appeals for specic projects, in that case
for supporting the case of E-Bury aireld’s
licence application which had been arbitrarily
refused by the Director of Civil Aviation. We
had assisted in the matter when it came
before the Civil Aviation Appeals Committee
way back in 2013, when the CAAC overruled
director Poppy Khoza’s decision.
AOPA BRIEFING
REPORT: CHRIS MARTINUS
We have waited a little later in the year for our AGM, which should ideally have happened a
month or two earlier, in order to give opportunities to President Ramaphosa to present his
SONA speech and Minister of Finance Mboweni to enlighten us about the future in his budget
speech. Here now is the 2019 AOPA President’s Report.
AOPA PRESIDENT’S
REPORT 2019
Dawie Roodt - 'State spending drastically exceeds growth.'
www.sayer.com | March 2019
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However, nearly two years later, CAA
decided to appeal the decision, but rst had
to ask the courts to condone their very late
application. They were well past the 60
days allowed for ling an appeal to the High
Court. Their application was voluminous,
lled with irrelevant nonsense and some
downright untruths. It was also supported
by Lanseria and Grand Central airports, who
had (according to the CAAC) a commercial
interest in the outcomes.
Due to the issues being of great
importance to AOPA members and others
with similar interests, we jumped aboard
again to support the case. We are pleased
to say that our appeal for contributions
raised an amount of R126 450 in addition
to AOPA’s expenditure. This impressive
response resulted from one emailed
newsletter that was also posted on social
media and aviation forums.
This was the rst time we had done
something like this, so the structure we
adopted was that contributors would pay
directly into an attorney’s trust account
rather than into AOPA’s account. This would
keep it separate from AOPA’s day-to-day
cash ow and avoid any disputes.
Despite several delays in the case, the
matter was nally heard, but the judge took
three months considering her judgement.
However, when it was nally handed down,
Judge Elizabeth Kubusi was scathing about
director Poppy Khoza and CAA executive
Gawie Bestbier’s “frivolous and vexatious”
conduct and awarded attorney and client
costs in favour of E-Bury last year.
The courts grind slowly and the bill of
costs has been sent to CAA. However, they
have not responded and the bill of costs is
now before the High Court’s taxing master
for nalisation. When done, we expect to
be claiming payment in excess of R300 000
sometime in the next couple of months.
We are expecting to be repaying those
contributors who would like their money
back. Alternatively, any surplus will be dealt
with by the Treasurer, perhaps through a
separate litigation fund.
In the circumstances, we will undoubtedly
be utilising a ‘crowdfunding’ approach again
in future where it may be needed for a
specic project. This concept arose from
the disparity where it seems unfair that a
microlight enthusiast nds his membership
fees going towards the interests of members
who operate large business jets and vice
versa. It also avoids there being too much
cash sloshing around in the accounts of an
informal association like AOPA – something
that always causes problems.
REGULATORY ISSUES
Needless to say, our successes in court
last year undoubtedly caused considerable
annoyance to Khoza and her associates.
She has therefore embarked on a campaign
of intimidating website owners who dare
carry AOPA news and res off frequent
threats to AOPA directors. She has even
demanded that we make representations
to her about how we run our own internal
affairs.
Clearly she is trying to pick a ght with
us. We nd this quite amusing and accept
it as recognition that we are doing a great
job. Our few detractors spread the word that
“AOPA just wants to ght.” That is simply not
true, but when we do ght, we ght to win.
Although CAA has had the Minister
sign a few regulations despite vehement
opposition from us, notably the absurd Part
21 requirements for loads of expensive
paperwork to be submitted every year for
unnecessary renewals of certicates of
airworthiness, we have managed to keep
many of the others at bay, for now.
Khoza and her associates have also
been trying to interfere with the rights of
AOPA’s members to be heard, but in doing
so they are simply undermining their own
position. Without proper openness and
transparency, regulations can and must be
set aside if they adversely affect our rights
as aircraft owners and pilots. Of course we
don’t want to ght, but if we have to, we will.
The coming year is likely to throw
us further challenges, but we are ready
for them.
COLUMNS
Source: Tradingeconomics.com | National Treasury, South Africa
BELOW: Government debt as a percentage of GDP is a good indicator of scal restraint.
