Investors put drone plans on hold over licensing hitch

Investors eyeing a slice of the drone business for commercial purposes have put their activities on hold due to lack of clarity following the move by the National Assembly to annul the regulations that would have legalised Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

Drone operators are now stranded after a House committee annulled regulations that would have seen them start commercial use of drones in the country.

Astral Aviation had already put structures in place and even sought a licence from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) to open the first drone academy in the country.

“The move by MPs has had a negative effect on the budding industry as everything has come to a standstill due to the lack of clarity on the status of the law,” said Astral Aviation CEO Sanjeev Gadhia.

Mr Gadhia said the move had caused investors to put activities on hold because drones remain illegal until the law is approved.

“Companies founded on the regulations already have operational capabilities but are now incurring losses due to the hold. They have already incurred expenses in training their staff,” he said.

However, KCAA said it is in talks with Parliament on the way forward following the quashing of the regulations.

KCAA Director-General Gilbert Kibe said they were engaging the Parliamentary Committee on Delegated Legislation to resolve the stalemate.

“We are in negotiations with the committee on the way forward in regard to drones,” said Mr Kibe.

A number of firms had started adopting UAVs after the regulations were approved by the National Security Advisory Committee and later gazetted by the attorney-general.

The regulations were to be approved by a parliamentary committee before coming into effect but they were turned down on security and other grounds which MPs said had not been addressed well by the KCAA.

A nod from the MPs would have allowed Kenyans to acquire drones for relief services, sports, film shooting and other commercial purposes.

The committee also said the proposed rules fell short of addressing issues raised about safety, security and breach of personal privacy by drones being put in civilian hands. Kenya has no single drone pilot and neither does the country have a training institution for UAV operators.

READ: Hefty fines for drone owners as Kenya close to licensing their use

If KCAA approves the setting up of a school by Astral, Kenya will become the second country in Africa after South Africa to have such a facility.

International firms Facebook and Uber had also requested for permission from the aviation regulator to test their drone activities locally.

KCAA said the two firms had shown interest in using drones in the country following the adoption of regulations to guide operation of the vehicles.

The move would have made Kenya the third country in Africa, after South Africa and Rwanda, to have drone regulations in place.

According to a report by PwC published in 2016 on the commercial applications of drone technology titled Clarity From Above, as of 2015 the total drone powered solutions in all industries was estimated at $127 billion (Sh12.7 trillion).

This is the combined value of applications in industries such as infrastructure inspection, precision agriculture, and media and entertainment. This highlighted the industry’s potential for creating jobs and opening new market opportunities for Kenyan youth.