South Africa has kept its place as the top-performing country in Africa and seventh in the world for the effectiveness of its civil aviation safety oversight, after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) confirmed a final rating of 94.99%.
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy announced the result in Midrand on 1 October at the launch of Transport Month, which is now in its 21st year. She said the confirmation by the United Nations aviation agency in September showed that the country’s oversight system was strong and mature.
The rating is an Effective Implementation (EI) score under ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme, which measures the share of protocol questions a state is judged to have implemented satisfactorily across eight critical elements of safety oversight, from legislation and personnel licensing to airworthiness and accident investigation. An ICAO validation mission in April produced a preliminary score of 95.12%, which placed South Africa eighth globally at the time.
South Africa’s ICAO safety oversight scores
| Assessment | EI score | Standing |
| Before the 2017 audit | 87.39% | – |
| 2023 full-scope audit (final) | 91.23% | First in Africa |
| April 2026 validation mission (preliminary) | 95.12% | Eighth globally |
| 2026 final rating (confirmed September) | 94.99% | Seventh globally, first in Africa |
| Global average (2023) | 67.50% | – |
The final figure came in slightly below the preliminary score after ICAO’s quality-assurance review, but the country’s global position improved by one place. The trend has been upward for almost a decade. When the 2023 results were released, the global average EI rate stood at 67.5%, and IATA data for 2022 showed that only 28 of Africa’s 54 states reached 60% or more.
High scores carry commercial weight because foreign regulators, lessors and insurers use them to judge a country’s aviation governance. South Africa retained its Category 1 status from the US Federal Aviation Administration in 2022, and the European Union recognises its air cargo security system under the ACC3 programme.
The audit process is coordinated by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) on behalf of government. ICAO reviewers examine areas such as licensing, aircraft airworthiness, operations, aerodromes and whether national legislation gives the regulator adequate powers. South Africa has been an ICAO member since 1944 and sits on its governing council. This year’s Transport Month is being held under the theme of building a safe, sustainable, reliable and affordable transport system.
Creecy used the same event to announce a Transport Digital Authority, which will bring all online permitting services into a single citizen interface. Online registration for e-hailing vehicle owners and drivers is due to start in November, Flight Operator Permits are to be digitised by December, and a new online licensing system is intended to clear renewal backlogs facing taxi operators.
She also outlined SANRAL projects expected to create more than 35,000 jobs and support over 2,000 small businesses. These include upgrading the 160km Moloto Road corridor linking Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, the N2 at Piet Retief, the R52 between Koster and the N4 near Rustenburg, and Section 16 of the N1 between Zandkraal and Scottland in the Free State. SANRAL has committed more than R260 million to repairing and climate-proofing roads damaged in this year’s Mpumalanga floods.
Following recent court cases, Creecy said SANRAL would end pre-selected panels for routine road-maintenance tenders and return to open, route-by-route tendering to widen competition. The agency has revised its supply-chain procedures and added independent specialists to its audit and risk, loss control, and road infrastructure committees.