AGAINST the background of numerous problems afflicting the Nigerian aviation sector, the allegations of mismanagement of the N300 billion Aviation Intervention Fund is most worrisome. If the allegations hold any substance, it would mark perhaps the height of suspicion from concerned members of the public that the objective of the fund is far from being realised. Unfortunately, it has taken the crash of Dana Airline crash, and the consequent loss of more than 160 lives, to bring the issues, justifiably, to the front burner.During the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee investigating the Dana Airline crash, airline operators complained that the N300 billion provided by the Federal Government, domiciled with the Bank of Industry (BoI) and co-managed by the commercial banks has been misappropriated. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had, while injecting the fund to the sector, said that 'airlines can now partake from the funds and those that are indebted to banks can refinance their loans and amortise them over a period of 10 to 15 years.' The funds were to be dedicated to the airlines meeting the International Civil Aviation Organisation's certifications, and address all the issues of technical standards and planes' airworthiness.There is no doubt that the aviation industry is facing very severe financial crisis. Reports indicate that 16 domestic airlines, both operational and dormant, are trapped in debts of over N325 billion to various maintenance agencies, financial institutions and regulatory bodies. Apart from the huge debt overhang, the airlines are also faced with the problems of high aviation fuel prices, ageing aircrafts and high operating costs.This revelation by the airline operators, the beneficiary of the initiative, points to the fact that the steps needed to meet the objective of the fund have not been made, even against the generally acknowledged need for a long-term funding to rescue the sector and safeguard passengers' lives. It is worrisome to learn that the fund is mismanaged. The sheer thought of this flies in the face of the advertised enhanced rigour on efficient risk management in the banking system and the Central Bank's severe regulatory actions in that respect. It would be unacceptable that funds dedicated for a specific purpose were diverted yet gain to other uses by institutions that ought to know better.It is lamentable that the Federal Government's fiscal regime response to the dithering global economy and self-inflicted domestic recession, through intervention monies thrown at a number of sectors ' Textiles, Aviation, Agriculture, Cement, Music and the Arts ' do not translate to any improvement in the sector environment, measurable in capacity upgrade and persons employed. The current developments have further raised questions on the structure put in place for the management of the fund. It is known, for instance that in other jurisdictions, interventions in banks and auto manufacturing have been successful; and the economic cycle shown to be dividends of the fiscal stimulus.When fiscal policy interventions in the economic sphere are improperly executed, the losses to the nation are three-fold: immediate loss of the opportunity to salvage some value, prolonged manifestation of the dysfunction of that sector and erosion of public confidence in the government and her articulation of policies.The strategic importance of the aviation industry makes it unthinkable for it to be treated with disdain. It appears the country has no cohesive approach to these fiscal interventions and at best, is ignorant of the effects of speed of implementation and depth of the impact of these actions. As it were, the nation seems condemned to a culture of misplaced access and abdication of responsibility in these interventions. Summarily, the failures experienced in the market gravitate towards serial institutional failures in the national structure.The Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah-Ogiemwonyi, called for a review of the fund because it was not delivering on its mandate. But she has only reaffirmed the lack of professionalism in the original objective and efforts in setting it up. The fact remains that those who are entrusted with the efficient working of the sector should be reminded that the failures they create triggers events such as the recent Dana Airline disaster.A holistic appraisal of the sector aimed at fixing the rot will go a long way in addressing the ills. To this end, a forensic investigation on the status of the N300 billion intervention fund is critical, and if the facility has been subjected to abuse and deployed to uses other than what it was originally meant for, the CBN, Bank of Industry and the commercial banks involved must be brought to book.
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