TREASURY Registrar Athumani Mbuttuka has advised the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) to use their regulatory role to increase revenue from institutions that use their services commercially.
He gave the advice at the weekend when closing a fiveday capacity building workshop for TMA management on fundamentals of regulations and cost recovery.
The Treasury Registrar was optimistic for a more vibrant TMA which was now an authority after the Parliament endorsed the Act in November last year from an agency which had been accented to by President John Magufuli.
Moreover, he said, with the new task, it was the government’s intention to see TMA using their regulatory mandate to increase efficiency in weather forecast and cost recovery.
Mr Mbuttuka commended TMA for the job well done in weather forecast, but it should increase efficiency to have hourly alerts and forecast.
He told them to use training to deliver and stick to quality service delivery by regulating meteorological services and ensuring adherence to international standards and practices of meteorological services.
“TMA should come up with the best strategy to increase their revenue through a number of fees whose positive impact should be felt in cost recovery of better service delivery, and ultimately increased dividend to the government,” he insisted.
Moreover, he stressed the importance of teamwork for good results.
Earlier, TMA Director General, Dr Agnes Kijazi, said capacity building aimed at imparting knowledge and skills to the management team in revenue collection and cost recovery which was a new avenue under the TMA mandate.
She said the management team from all eight zones would pass over the knowledge to their subordinates in their respective areas so that they could all speak the same language.
Dr Kijazi added that TMA weather forecast accuracy had improved as it was 95 per cent and plans were underway to increase it more.
The new TMA Act, which was enacted last year, among other things, wants TMA to ensure it adheres to standards in installation and maintenance of meteorological instruments and perform monitoring and supervisory functions of meteorological operators.
Moreover, under the Act a person who intends to engage in any meteorological observation, weather forecasting activities or weather modification activities shall apply for a permit.
An Act to establish the Tanzania Meteorological Authority, to make better provisions for the management, control, provision, coordination and regulation of meteorological services, to repeal specialised meteorological services provided for a specific sector, customer or clients for economic gains or benefits.
The functions of TMA shall be to deliver the public good and commercial services in relation to meteorology and implement the national climate related policies in relation to weather and climate matters.
TMA also has been mandated under the Act to provide weather and climate services for the safety of life and property and to various users of meteorological services, issue weather-related warnings and information.
On top of that TMA has been tasked to provide marine meteorological services to shipping, fishing and other marine activities and provide aeronautical meteorological services, advisory services, warnings, products and information and related services to civil aviation.
