Government reorganizes the Ghana Meteorological Agency

General News of Friday, July 12, 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

2019-07-12

The Government of Ghana is committed to reorganizing and repositioning the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) to become the best meteorological institution in the subregion.

"The government has demonstrated this commitment by purchasing a number of equipment such as automatic weather stations, calibration equipment, vehicles, etc."

Vincent Sowah Odotei, Deputy Minister of Communications, said this in Accra on Wednesday, at the opening of a national consultative workshop for the establishment of a national framework for climate services at Ghana.

He said that Ghana, co-chair of the advocacy group on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), was particularly keen to hold GMet accountable for taking action on climate change issues. , with a view to achieving the SDG 13.

"It is important for Ghana to adapt its climate services to the needs of end-users, and climate information needs to address the specific needs of users through relevant forecasts, based on consulting services and support tools. decision, "said the deputy minister. .

Mr. Odotei noted that the implementation of Ghana's National Framework for Climate Services required strong partnerships and collaboration with international organizations and user groups such as sectoral experts, government agencies, the sector private and academic world.

He said the government would support GMet, which was the lead agency in the implementation, to ensure that climate services are efficiently delivered to improve products, forecasts and prospects. climatological information.

The deputy minister said the government, through the Ministry of Communications, would ensure that the framework is implemented to the letter.

He added that the government's flagship programs, such as Planting for Food and Jobs, One Village One Dam and One District One Factory, all depended on the climate, which made setting the framework easy. more timely national.

"The ministry, through GMet, would encourage and strengthen public education campaigns for all end-users, on the critical role climate plays in their activities and inform them of their activities," Sowah said.

Michael Tanu, General Manager of the Meteorological Agency of Ghana, who chaired the program, said that climate change and the increase in the frequency of extreme weather events such as drought, floods, landslides field and rising temperatures in mbadive urbanization, "threatens our very survival".

He added that national meteorological and hydrological services should therefore put in place early warning systems to help alleviate the consequences of these disasters as a matter of urgency.

Dr. Tanu added, "While work has already been done in various agencies and institutions across the country, there is a need to collaborate and coordinate activities to build resilience."

The three-day workshop is organized by GMet, under the auspices of the Ministry of Communication.