Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Director of Civil Aviation, Poppy Khoza, will guide the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) into a novel chapter after being re-appointed to serve another five-year term at the regulator.
“Khoza is an aviation trailblazer who is internationally recognised and supported. It is through her work that our South African aviation sector continues to hold a critical voice on global aviation dialogues,” SACAA Board Chairperson Ernest Khosa said on Tuesday.
Her term in office is effective from 1 December 2023 until 30 November 2028. This will be her third term at the helm of the aviation regulator.
Khoza carries extensive experience and knowledge in aviation since being first appointed to this pivotal role in an acting capacity in October 2012 and then on a 5-year fixed term basis from December 2013.
Outside of being the first black female DCA, she was also the first woman globally to be elected to preside over the General Assembly at the ICAO’s 41st Assembly Session in 2022.
Some of SACAA’s achievements under Khoza’s tenure at the Authority include:
- Achieving ten clean audits in a space of 11 years and the most recent audit (2022/23) attracting zero findings.
- Achieving 100% implementation of the entity’s targets, eight years in a row.
- Steering the SACAA to perform exceptionally through several independent international audits on aviation safety and security, elevating South Africa as the top-ranking country on the continent and ranking in the top 20 globally. South Africa is the first country on the continent to surpass the 90% trace in the safety audits.
- Retaining the Category 1 Status of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) assessment, which was concluded in 2022. This ranking, which is highly recognised globally, allows SA operators the freedom to operate to the US without restrictions imposed on them.
- Securing recognition agreements with our European counterparts and the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in the aviation cargo security system.
- Transforming the organisation which now boasts 51% competent female employees and 50% female Executives.
This appointment was approved by Cabinet on 20 November 2023.
“As the SACAA Board, we see this as a vote of confidence for the exemplary leadership the DCA has demonstrated over the past 11 years being at the helm of the organisation. I would like to extend my message of support following this announcement from Cabinet.
“The stability we see at SACAA is testament to her worthy leadership which has equally received positive cheers from staff, the aviation industry, and international counterparts, when we first made this announcement on 20 November 2023,” Khoza said.
Khoza said she is deeply honoured and grateful for this opportunity to again serve as the Director of Civil Aviation.
“It is an exciting time for me personally and I pledge my commitment once again to steer positive change and promoting safety, efficiency, gender equality and innovation in our skies.” –SAnews.gov.za
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Fun South African Fact: South Africa is home to the world’s longest wine route: Route 62. It spans an impressive 850 kilometres and the excellent wineries along the way are a must-visit for lovers of fine wine! You can even enjoy the winelands on a day trip from Cape Town. Travel 40-min to an hour outside of the city centre to enjoy decadent wine tastings and even wander through some of the beautiful wine farms and estates! Suburbs like Durbanville and Constantia are even closer to the city centre and are also home to many exceptional wineries.
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