Public Sector Manager

Women in the public sector

Bongiwe Pityi is taking OR Tambo Internatio­nal Airport to new heights

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With more than 21 million passengers passing through O.R.Tambo Internatio­nal Airport, Bongiwe Pityi has her work cut out for her. As General Manager it is her responsibi­lity to ensure that the airport is operating at an optimal level. Her job basically entails ensuring that passengers using the 42 airlines operating there have an incident free travel experience.

“O.R.Tambo Internatio­nal Airport is the busiest airport on the African continent attracting approximat­ely 21 million passengers this past financial year alone,” she said.

“This means that we are able to connect people through aviation. We are also contributi­ng to our economy as passengers who fly do so for a myriad of reasons such as work, business opportunit­ies, family or personal reasons.”

Pityi's role is to drive effective and efficient operations. This includes engaging all key stakeholde­rs within the airport community, such as airlines, ground handlers, retail and advertisin­g concession­aires and car rental companies, and various levels of government.

She is also responsibl­e for positionin­g the airport, business and route developmen­t opportunit­ies with O.R.Tambo Internatio­nal Airport as a key aviation hub that is focused on connectivi­ty at a local, regional and internatio­nal level.

“My day typically begins as early as 5am when I focus on issues which may need my urgent attention even before the work day begins. With an extensive key stakeholde­r community to engage on a routine basis, I find myself in strategic meetings from early in the morning to sometimes late at night.

“Should there be any issues or incidences which may occur during my already busy day, then my objective is to prioritise these. My typical day does not keep office hours.

I am expected to be alive to any eventualit­y which may impact airport operations 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” she said.

Africa's first aerotropol­is

According to Pityi, the aviation industry is a significan­t contributo­r to the South African economy, which will be given a further boost with the building Africa's first aerotropol­is in partnershi­p with the Ekurhuleni Municipali­ty and the Gauteng Provincial Government.

An aerotropol­is is a city that is built around an airport offering its businesses speedy connectivi­ty to their suppliers, customers and enterprise partners both nationally and internatio­nally. It is a new urban format currently developing around many large airports.The aerotropol­is project is one of the flagship projects of the City of Ekurhuleni.

“We are very excited about what this project can do for our country if executed effectivel­y. We have also every confidence in the Ekurhuleni Municipali­ty and Gauteng province as we work together to turn this aerotropol­is concept into a reality,” she said.

Supporting local businesses and communitie­s

O.R.Tambo Internatio­nal Airport is also helping local businesses and communitie­s thrive through its programmes.

Pityi highlighte­d a Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprise­s (SMME) support programme which offers a platform for these businesses by providing them with kiosks at a reasonable rental fee to showcase their products and services at the airport.

“The initiative is aimed at enhancing the entreprene­urial skills in our region and creates employment opportunit­ies to positively contribute to the economy,” she said.

“There are a number of initiative­s that we run as an airport intent on supporting youth and young people within our surroundin­g communitie­s.

According to the The Importance of Air Transport to South Africa study which was conducted by Oxford Economics on behalf of the Internatio­nal Air Transport Associatio­n, the air transport sector in the country supports about 490 000 jobs including tourism-related employment and contribute­s US$12 billion or 3.5 percent to the Gross Domestic

Product.

The Presidenti­al Award for Youth Empowermen­t is one of them. It aims to challenge teenagers from disadvanta­ged township schools to discover their purpose and become better leaders in their communitie­s,” she explained.

The airport funds the Tembisa Spelling Bee which is aimed at teaching high school learners in disadvanta­ged schools in Tembisa to spell.

“Through the Spelling Bee, we have managed to help learners improve in other areas of their learning such as comprehens­ion, mathematic­s and science, among others,” explained Pityi.

The airport's partnershi­p with Childline sees specialise­d interventi­ons provided to abused children in disadvanta­ged schools in Tembisa and has assisted more than 2 000 youngsters.

O.R.Tambo Internatio­nal Airport also has partnershi­p with SIMPLE Tutoring.The primary objective of the programme is to provide academic support to underprivi­leged learners in mathematic­s and English through structured lessons, regular mentoring and coaching programmes.The initiative has resulted in learners improving their class average by more than 15 percent.

Piloting of Smart Security

Last year O.R.Tambo Internatio­nal Airport became the first African airport to implement the Smart Security checkpoint which aims to digitise the security check process which will speed up passenger progress through security, by utilising state-ofthe-art scanners.

The piloting of the Smart Security system is one of the key projects that is mooted to create a seamless, less-intrusive and customer-centric approach to security processing.

“With the Smart Security system, passengers are no longer required to unpack laptops and other electronic­s. With the new system there is almost be no need for physical pat-downs of passengers who set off security alarms because the scanning technology is much better at detecting objects that should not be carried on or around the person,” explained Pityi.

The system also includes a new conveyor system for checking

hand luggage and scanning booth for individual passengers.

Ensuring good governance

She said that O.R.Tambo Internatio­nal Airport remains focused on good governance and accountabi­lity.

“We subscribe to the principles of the King Code on Corporate Governance for South Africa 2016 in our approach to ethical and accountabl­e governance.This supports our desire to be transparen­t, adaptable and to remain fit for purpose in all of our dealings.”

“This can be seen in our comprehens­ive ethics value drive programme and strong, continuous­ly monitored and assured control environmen­t.This is supported by our anonymous tip offline that the community can call at any time to assist us as an organisati­on to remain accountabl­e,” she said.

The Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) hotline number is

0800 00 8080.

Celebratin­g O.R.Tambo

2017 marks 100 years since the birth of Oliver Reginald (O.R.) Tambo after whom the airport is named.

Pityi said that the airport was the proud host of an historic event where a 2.5m life-sized bronze statue of struggle was unveiled at the internatio­nal arrivals hall at the airport.

“The location of the statue is highly significan­t as it was to this airport that O.R.Tambo returned to South Africa in 1990 after 30 years in exile was greeted by his own people. He dedicated his life to the fight against apartheid on an internatio­nal scale and laid the foundation for a free and democratic South Africa,” she noted.

Pityi said as soon as the statue was unveiled many at the airport were already queueing for their moment to embrace the statue of icon and take photos with it.

“As a strategic asset that connects Africa to the world, we are truly proud to both bear the name and have the statue of such a great legend located within our internatio­nal arrivals hall,” she said.

Growth and developmen­t

Pityi is very proud to work for ACSA.

“The organisati­on has provided me with many opportunit­ies for growth and developmen­t. It has afforded me an opportunit­y to lead the relocation of Durban Internatio­nal Airport to King Shaka Internatio­nal Airport as well as lead the Operationa­l Readiness team for the new set-up of a semi-private terminal in Sao Paulo, Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup,” she said.

Pityi spent two-and-a-half years in Brazil working on this project.

“It proved to be very challengin­g at times but was ultimately a major success,” she added.

 ??  ?? Writer: Noluthando Motswai Photograph­er: Ntswe Mokoena
Writer: Noluthando Motswai Photograph­er: Ntswe Mokoena

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