SAHPA operates within a formal Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) framework to ensure that recreational hang gliding and paragliding in South Africa is conducted safely, lawfully, and in the public interest.
This framework underpins SAHPA’s role as a recognised Aviation Recreation Organisation and supports accountability to members, landowners, regulators, and the broader public.
Governance
Governance describes how authority is exercised within SAHPA, how decisions are taken, and how accountability is maintained.
SAHPA’s governance framework is established through its Memorandum of Incorporation, policies and formal manuals, together with the approval granted by the South African Civil Aviation Authority and SAHPA’s affiliation with the Aero Club of South Africa and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.
Through this framework, SAHPA defines roles, responsibilities, and limits of authority; ensures that decisions are lawful, reasonable, and procedurally fair; and provides consistent oversight across clubs, flying sites, schools, and sanctioned events. SAHPA does not manage day-to-day flying activity. Instead, it governs the conditions under which recreational aviation may take place safely and responsibly.
Risk Management
Recreational aviation involves inherent and unavoidable risk. SAHPA manages these risks deliberately and systematically, rather than reactively or incident-by-incident.
Risk management within SAHPA focuses on identifying, assessing, and monitoring risks that may affect aviation safety, public safety, environmental protection, legal compliance, organisational sustainability, and the integrity of SAHPA’s delegated authority.
To support this, SAHPA maintains a structured Risk Universe, which defines the full range of risk categories relevant to recreational hang gliding and paragliding. The Risk Universe ensures that risks are considered holistically across flight operations, site access, training and instruction, competitions and events, governance activities, regulatory obligations, and information systems, rather than in isolation.
The Risk Register translates this high-level view into a practical management tool. It records specific risks, their causes and potential consequences, the controls in place to manage them, and the residual risk that remains. Ownership and accountability for risks are clearly assigned, and the register is reviewed and updated as conditions change, new sites are developed, or regulatory expectations evolve.
Compliance
Compliance ensures that SAHPA and its members operate within applicable laws, regulations, and internal rules.
SAHPA’s compliance framework is focused on adherence to the Civil Aviation Act and Civil Aviation Regulations, observance of SAHPA’s Operations Manual, Manual of Procedures, and Codes of Conduct, and the responsible exercise of delegated authority. Where safety concerns, regulatory contraventions, or material risks are identified, SAHPA takes appropriate and proportionate action, including reporting to the relevant authorities where required.
Compliance is not treated as a punitive function. It exists to support safety, credibility, and trust, both within the sport and with external stakeholders.
An Integrated Framework
Governance, risk management, and compliance are not separate or competing activities. Together, they form a single, integrated framework.
Governance establishes authority and accountability. Risk management identifies what could go wrong and how those risks are controlled. Compliance ensures that obligations are met and rules are followed. Each reinforces the others, enabling SAHPA to protect public interest while supporting safe and sustainable recreational aviation.
Transparency and Continuous Improvement
SAHPA is committed to transparency and continuous improvement in governance and safety.
Members, clubs, site custodians, instructors, and event organisers are encouraged to engage constructively with risk and compliance processes and to report hazards or safety concerns in good faith. Strong governance is not an obstacle to flying. It is what allows recreational aviation to continue, to grow, and to retain the confidence of regulators, landowners, and the public.