Peckair Tanzania Interview

TANZANIAINVEST has been interviewing Mrs. Rosemary Kacungira, Managing Director of Peckair Tanzania Aviation Services, to gather her vision and opinion about the Tanzania economy and Tanzania aviation sector.

TI: Could you give us a brief introduction to Peckair?

Rosemary Kacungira – Peckair Tanzania: We are an aviation services agent company for companies in the United Kingdom and in the United States.

The aviation services we render are accorded to both business visitors and to tourists.

However, we deal mainly with corporate private jets coming to Tanzania for investment purposes.

We receive a lot of business clients flying in from South Africa and a lot of tourist from the United States.

We assist many people and many people appreciate our services.

Now we need look for more investors to come and facilitate the growth of our account.

For that we need the services at our airports to be improved in order to enhance our business.

TI: What is the current security situation of Tanzanian airports? Do they meet international airports standards?

RK: Two airports, the Dar es Salaam and the Kilimanjaro international airports, meet the international airport standards and can receive any flight.

The other airports in Mwanza and Zanzibar need to be fenced so as to enhance the security level.{xtypo_quote_left}The aviation security, in general, in Tanzania is improving.{/xtypo_quote_left}

The Tanzania Airport Authority is responsible for ensuring that these needs are adequately addressed.

We have local companies that can render such services, however, the limitation that most of them have is represented by the lack of aviation training, so as to be able to be acquainted with the airports.

The aviation security in general in Tanzania is improving, with the introduction of new scanning machines.

The manpower at the airports, however, has to be well-trained to address airport tasks.

For example, the processing of the cargo and ensuring that the passenger has the right document for their respective destinations, such as visas.

TI: What do you think should be the role of both the public and private sectors in fostering the arrival of foreign investors to Tanzania?

RK: The public and private sectors should provide a framework so as to facilitate the needs of the investors when they arrive in Tanzania.

Also, to aid them in familiarizing themselves with the country and how to undertake their business once they are in the country.

We have some incidences of investors arriving in the country and being met by fraudsters.

This is why Tanzania needs to educate more people on the role of FDI so as to attract more investment into the country.{xtypo_quote_right}The airport must be equipped with the right services and facilities so as to boost Tanzania’s reputation as well as to increase the inflow of flights.{/xtypo_quote_right}

We need to change the perception that the local people have; they perceive investors as a threat which comes and takes what we have, while [in fact] investors are coming to change and aid in the development of the country.

Within such framework, airports are the gateway to our country.

Therefore, the airport must be equipped with the right services and facilities so as to boost Tanzania’s reputation as well as to increase the inflow of flights.

The government should promote the provision of safe, reliable and efficiently managed airports and should improve the overall standards of the airports.

We would like to see that the opportunity be accorded to external private companies to provide the security the airports need.