Thread by @DisasterKenya

@CAA_Kenya @StateHouseKenya @KenyaAirways Defeatism & pointing at competitors or their Govt aided advantages aside. Why the selective amnesia & mediocrity even in thinking? Thread. @mlimakenya @BasilioCC @chothep @VictorMwambacha @Hitlerlaw2 @ajfactual52
nation.africa/kenya/business…

That Aviation has potential to make an important contribution to Kenya's economic growth & development. Or air transport can open, connect markets, facilitate trade & enable Kenyan firms link with global supply chains, aside. Are we really honest, with KQ & or the inflicted woes?

Yet KQ plays an especially pivotal role in just-in-time our manufacturing production & in speeding fresh produce from agricultural communities in Kenya as a developing economy to markets in the industrialised world ?

Or that KQ can enhance air connectivity, thus help raise productivity, by encouraging investment & innovation;
improving business operations & efficiency. Or that air transport is indispensable for tourism, where convenient air service facilitates it tenfold ?

But the Govts of the day have since, the curving of KQ from the defunct East African Airways, been the single most impeding actor killing it from its potential ? @CAA_Kenya as the lead appropriate authority on its part has continued to limp cluelessly dragging KQ with it ?

That, while many air markets between Kenya, Africa & countries outside of Africa have been liberalised to a significant extent, but our aviation market remain largely closed, subject to restrictive bilateral agreements which limit the growth & development of KQ ?

This particular issue has limited the potential for Kenya's aviation to be an engine of growth & development. Even with Kenya recognising that this restrictive arrangement was limiting growth, thus the adoption of the Yamoussoukro Decision in 1999. It was all paper & zero action.

Though this agreement committed the then 44 signatory
countries to deregulating air services & to promoting regional opening to transnational competition. However, its implementation in Kenya has been slow & limited, thus the potential benefits remain largely unrealised.

Yes liberalisation can lead to increased air service levels & other benefits, which in turn stimulates additional traffic volumes, facilitates tourism, & other sectors of the economy, bringing about enhanced productivity & economic growth. But without a willing or able Govt?

There is evidence that liberalisation of the air markets has provided substantial benefits for passengers & for the wider economy. Where African nations have liberalised their air markets, either within Africa or with the rest of the world, there is substantial positive benefits.

But without a willing Govt & or able governance from top to bottom. How then do we expect KQ to flourish. The deliberate kinks & vested interests aside ?

We cannot keep referring to the likes of Ethiopian Airways & or Emirates, with or without the supposed Govt subsidies or support. Look at their Govts for starters. Who amongst them is using those airlines as a cookie jar, the way Kenya Airways currently is ?

Take Ethiopia’s pursuit of more liberal bilaterals (on a reciprocal basis) for example. It has contributed to Ethiopian Airlines become one of the largest & most profitable airlines in Africa. Had we not lip serviced Yamoussoukro & put thieves in charge of KQ, where would we be?

Yes, there is always a concern that liberalisation can harm profitability & viability of existing carriers. Indeed, a common result is that liberalisation leads to loss of market share as new competitors enter the market. But with KQ as a shell of its former self can we compete ?

The example of Ethiopian Airlines demonstrates that African carriers can thrive in a more liberalised environment. But whether KQ as an incumbent prospers or suffers under liberalisation depends in greater part on the quality of its Mgmt & how it responds to such competition.

In the words of Albert Einstein ''If you want different results, do not do the same things''. We must stop stealing, running KQ aground & appointing our kins to positions they deserve not as the first steps. @RasnaWarah @Anon1KENYA @threadreaderapp Unroll