The Parliamentary Select Committee on Information and Communications has started a working tour of the agencies it oversees as part of its monitoring duty.
Included in the visit were the Data Protection Commission, the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMET), and the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (AITI-KACE).
Each organisation gave a formal presentation to the committee during the visit, detailing their major issues, ongoing projects, and major accomplishments. The main topic of discussion was how to better assist these organisations in carrying out their mandates.
Speaking to the media at the Ghana Meteorological Agency, Hon. Bandim Lamangin Abed-Nego, the Committee Chairman and Member of Parliament for Bunkpurugu, underlined how important it is to provide GMET with cutting-edge equipment and technology.
According to him, GMET needs sufficient funding to provide timely and accurate forecasts, and precise meteorological data is crucial for the development of the country.
“GMET’s operations cut across all sectors of the economy, from agriculture to aviation. It is therefore essential that the agency is given the support it needs to function effectively,” Hon. Abed-Nego stated.
GMET representatives urged the committee to support the agency’s application for Authority status during their presentation.
GMET claims that doing so would enable them to effectively enforce rules, increase their financial stability, and keep talented employees who are frequently lured away by higher-paying organisations.
“As Chair of the Committee, we will be recommending that the government consider elevating GMET to an Authority status.”
Modernising GMET’s infrastructure, he continued, will greatly improve the organisation’s forecasting capacities and support national planning and safety.
Source: newsthemegh.com