Meteorological Agency cries for support
The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) risks losing its relevance unless urgent measures are put in place by the government to resource the institution.
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According to the Director-General of GMet, Captain Stephen Komla, since 2008 the agency had not received any logistical support from the government to support its work.
Compounding the woes of the agency, he said, was the fact that institutions such as the Ghana Airport Company (GAC) and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) that relied heavily on information from GMet had not contributed anything to support its work.
“In fact, the only institution that seems to be interested in the operations of GMet and supports it is the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA),” Captain Komla said at the opening of a two-day workshop at Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region yesterday.
The workshop, which is on the generation and dissemination of reliable climate information, was organised by GMet and the Adaptation Learning Programme (ALP) for Africa.
It is supported by UKaid, DANIDA, the Forest Ministry of Finland and Austrian Development Co-operation.
GMet still infant
Captain Komla said since the agency was established in 2004, nothing concrete had been done by the government to enhance its efficiency.
He described GMet as “a major key in the development of Ghana”.
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“Although the agency had resorted to other ways to generate concrete and reliable climate information, the lack of support and assistance from the government continued to hamper its operations”, he stated.
He, therefore, appealed to the government and institutions to extend assistance to GMet, else the ripple effect of its non-performance would overwhelm the country, especially the activities of farmers.
In his welcoming address, the Director of ALP, Mr Romanus Gyang, said the workshop was to create a platform for the critical reflection on the role of GMet in its mandate on changing climate.