Uganda’s Museveni hails Canada for delving into commercial aircraft production
Kampala, Uganda (PANA) - Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday hailed Canada for delving into the production of commercial aircraft, saying it will stop the monopoly of the US and a few European countries in the field and hopefully push down prices.
Museveni spoke when he received two CRJ900 Bombardier planes that the country bought from Canada to start off the revival of Uganda Airlines, the country’s national carrier, which was wound up in 2001 due to mismanagement.
“Previously, it has been only America, Germany and a few other European countries [producing commercial airplanes] … we are pleased to welcome Canada in this field because it is good to break monopoly,” Museveni said at Entebbe airport where the two light aircraft landed this morning.
Uganda entered a deal with Bombardier Commercial Aircraft of Canada to purchase four CRJ900 regional planes at $190 million. Two of these planes flew into Uganda on Tuesday and the other two are expected to arrive at a later date.
The airline will start with regional flights within East Africa and eventually launch long route direct flights to Guangzhou, London and Dubai, which will require acquisition of bigger aircraft.
Museveni said Ugandans spent US$400 million on airline travel every year, into which he hopes the national carrier will tap to become profitable.
“Why do I think the new baby will survive? There are four clientele constituencies that will support this business; Ugandans in the diaspora, families of Asians of Ugandan descent expelled by Idi Amin, our business people here who travel a lot and the tourists,” Museveni said.
He said travelling to Uganda will become easier with direct flights because passengers will now no longer have to make stops in cities like Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Kigali or Dubai.
Museveni, who has been in power since January 1986, was in charge when Uganda Airlines went under, and remarked at the function on Tuesday that he was “among the undertakers at the burial of the old airline but I am also among the midwives delivering the new baby”.
There are concerns about Uganda’s ability to sustain a commercial airline of its own in a situation where most of its neighbours – Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda – all operate airlines of their own. All the countries are part of the six-member East African Community (EAC), and there had been a suggestion that the countries should pool their resources and run one airline jointly.
On this, Museveni said: “… my ideological orientation still believes we can have an EA {East African] airline if we amalgamate all national airlines. It partly explains why I delayed the revival of Uganda Airlines but our friends did not see this; some of them were discriminating against Ugandan travellers.”
-0- PANA EM/VAO 23April2019
