Brazzaville | Sunday
IVORY COAST Transport Minister Kabran Appia on Saturday urged his counterparts from the 11 countries that own Air Afrique to find “definitive options” to save the troubled company.
“We must save Air Afrique,” he said. “We must find definitive options … the heads of state summit must decide on a definitive solution,” he said at a committee meeting attended by company director Jeffrey Erickson.
Air Afrique, once celebrated as an example of African cooperation, has been hit by financial setbacks, and is now saddled with huge debts and a reputation for erratic and sub-standard services.
The meeting is being held ahead of next week’s “last chance” heads of state summit in the Congolese capital.
According to the Congolese transport ministry, the summit will now take place on Tuesday and not Monday, as initially announced.
Congolese Transport Minister Isidore Mvouba said Air Afrique was “in a deep coma.” But he added: “Like a boxer who is put to the floor but dreams of winning the fight, Air Afrique has a great chance to recover from its current difficulties.” On Thursday Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade hinted at the possibility that Air France could bail out the ailing airline.
All the options will be unveiled during Tuesday’s summit.
With 4_200 employees and six aircraft, and debts totalling 332 billion CFA francs ($443,5-million), the company has been in trouble since 1991.
In June, heads of state of the 11 African countries owning Air Afrique asked Wade and President Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast to find a solution to the company’s problems with the help of Air France.
The company primarily belongs to Benin, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Congo, Ivory Coast, Mali, Chad, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Togo, which jointly hold a 68,44% stake.
The remaining shares are held by Air France (11,84%), the French state development agency (8,87%) and three smaller shareholders. – AFP