Charting a new way forward
Finance minister Calle Schlettwein recently hosted a media conference where he used the opportunity to dispel inaccuracies regarding the liquidity crisis besetting the economy as well as other concerns. The current financial crisis has affected everyone, including major parastatals like Air Namibia, which has for long been a drain on the fiscus. With fiscal consolidation expected to continue into the new financial year, of interest is how this would impact on the operations of state-owned enterprises that receive huge bailouts every year from government. In response to a question on Air Namibia Schlettwein said its role could not be disregarded solely because it was a loss-making parastatal but that it had contributed significantly to the tourism sector. Another reason Schlettwein outlined was that if the state was to stop bailing out Air Namibia, it would be much more expensive to pay for the long-term leasing agreements for the Airbus 320s currently in its fleet. Granted the minister was justified in his response but with growing interest by large airliners at Hosea Kutako International Airport is it perhaps not the time to look into a lasting exit strategy especially in light of the liquidity crisis? Does it therefore make sense to fly long haul to one destination if at this point in time there are five airlines that can serve European legs perfectly well. Many have made the argument that Air Namibia should shift its focus to domestic routes and perhaps capitalise in this regard. Take a leaf out of our neighbours to the left, Botswana, who have since changed the model surrounding their state-owned airline and still continue to attract tourists in the absence of a flag-carrying international airline or better yet, Zambia who much recently grounded their national airliner. With a fleet of just two A320s, is it not laughable that we see ourselves compete on par with Emirates or even KLM-Air France. Perhaps now is the time to start code-sharing agreements. Let the big boys fly in the international travellers, we can take it further and fly them to our prime tourist destinations not just here but across Southern Africa. Maybe now is the time to revive the Windhoek - Maun leg as a starting point. Perhaps with the greater interest the Namibia Airports Company can benefit significantly and at the end of the day, our foreign earnings.
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