In the midst of the air transport crisis, ASECNA, bringing together France and 17 African countries, most of which have historical links with France, will appoint its Director General. The election campaign was tough, but is the position still so attractive?

The Committee of Ministers of the 18 Member States of the Agency for Air Navigation Safety in Africa and Madagascar (ASECNA) will elect, on September 14, 2020, the Director General of the organization for a four-year term (2021 -2024).

The election will take place in Dakar, headquarters of ASECNA, and not in Niamey, as initially planned, in order to respect fairness due to the candidacy of the outgoing Director General, the Nigerian Mohamed Moussa.

After the withdrawal of the Chadian candidate, there are only four candidates left: two for West Africa, the Mauritanian Hassena ould Ely and the Nigerian Mohamed Moussa and two for Central Africa, the Cameroonian Englebert Zoa Etundi and the Central African Theodore Jousso. The match between West Africa and Central Africa should normally be between the Nigerien and the Central African. The two Mauritanian and Cameroonian candidates are, in fact, in a weak position vis-à-vis their Central African and Nigerian competitors who are part of the Asecna seraglio, even if they are not exempt from strong attacks of destabilization.

The handicaps of the Mauritanian and the Cameroonian
Hassena ould Ely is a recognized manager who has proven himself mainly in the largest national companies in his country, such as Mauritania Airlines International, the Autonomous Port of Nouakchott and recently the National Industrial and Mining Company of Mauritania (SNIM), of which he was sacked in September 2019, one month after the inauguration of President Mohamed ould Ahmed el-Ghazouani. All these positions were occupied under the presidency of Mohamed ould Abdel Aziz (2008-2019), which earned him a mention in the report of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into the economic crimes committed during this presidency. It will be understood that President Mohamed ould Ahmed el-Ghazouani will not mobilize Mauritanian diplomacy for this candidate, especially since Hassena ould Ely cannot claim any experience within ASECNA.

Englebert Zoa Etundi is a qualified air transport expert with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), headquartered in Montreal. It is in this international organization that the Cameroonian has spent most of his career, which took him away from the existential questions of ASECNA, but which could also be an advantage in the event of a deadlock between the two favorite candidates. The chances of Englebert Zoa Etundi suffer above all from the competing candidacy of Central African Théodore Jousso who should mobilize more votes from Central Africa.

The challenger Théodore Jousso

The former Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation of the Central African Republic, for six years, held numerous positions of responsibility within ASECNA. This airbase engineer, a diploma obtained in Toulouse, presents both the profile of a specialist in air navigation safety and being a good connoisseur of the functioning of ASECNA, in which he participated by directing several departments.

If these six years within the Central African government have been punctuated by several achievements in terms of transport, in particular with international aid, on the other hand, in terms of civil aviation, the results are mixed. Admittedly, the Central African Airport Infrastructure Development Company (Sodiac) and the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) have been put into service, but the essential modernization of Bangui Mpoko airport has remained fallow. In Bangui, certain political circles and civil aviation professionals have directly questioned the management of Théodore Jousso, even accusing him of embezzlement.

These accusations, which have never been formally proven, nevertheless contributed to his departure from the government in February 2019. These accusations did not prevent President Touadera from presenting his candidacy, insisting on the principle of rotation which should, this time, to benefit Central Africa. It is not sure that this will be enough to win because Théodore Jousso will not be able to count on an effective diplomatic campaign from his country, which will not be the case for Mohamed Moussa.

Mohamed Moussa in pole position

After a mandate of four years, whose results are rather satisfactory, the Nigerian Mohamed Moussa is seeking re-election, as authorized by the statutes of ASECNA. The outgoing Director General can count on the diplomacy of his country to promote his new candidacy. President Issouffou is the current President of ECOWAS, so during the Summit on Monday, September 7, 2020, the States concerned by ASECNA were probably once again made aware. Mohamed Moussa also mentioned the support of several Heads of State, which was also considered clumsy on his part, because the vote of the States must remain as confidential as possible.

Mohamed Moussa can point to an improvement in the budgetary situation, operational performance and development projects such as the “Single Sky for Africa” project and the tracking of ADS-B radar guidance. As for Théodore Jousso, the accusations are also not lacking. They come not from his country, as for his challenger, but from certain personnel of the international public establishment. The person concerned defended himself from these attacks on his management.

Finally, in this worrying time for air transport, one can wonder if the old principle "we do not change captain in the middle of a storm" will not guide the Committee of Ministers of September 14, 2020.

The eye of Paris

ASECNA, which celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in December 2019, remains closely linked to France, in particular to the French Directorate General of Civil Aviation. France is one of the 18 Member States of the Agency and chairs its board of directors, generally occupied by a former ambassador who has been posted in French-speaking Africa. Since May 1, 2020, the Chairman of the Board of Directors has been Ambassador Jean Lamy, who knows the Central African Republic well for having been the coordinator of economic recovery and development in 2014-2015.

In this period of health crisis which has seen a 70% reduction in air traffic in the 16 million km2 area of ASECNA, difficult decisions are to be expected with the drop in airport charges. The Board of Directors should probably restrict the programmatic ambitions of the Director General, who will be elected on September 14, and thereby increase his financial supervision. ASECNA is in great danger of going through severe turbulence…