UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT

TANZANIA METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY

PUBLIC NOTICE

TANZANIA HAS BEEN ELECTED MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF THE WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION.

Dr. Agnes L. Kijazi, the Director General of Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) and Permanent Representative of Tanzania with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has been elected member of the WMO-Executive Council on 25^th June 2012. The election was done during the sixty fourth session of the WMO-Executive Council held in Geneva from 25^th June to 3^rd July, 2012. Dr. Kijazi filled the vacant seat left by Sudan and she will serve as a member of the council up to 2015 when next elections will be held. This seat is of importance to our country considering the fact that out of 189 countries that are members of WMO, only 37 countries form the Executive council of this important international organization.

Dr. Kijazi has a vast experience in weather and climate sciences as she rose from the lowest ranks in the Agency, the service which she joined in 1987 as a meteorological assistant. She holds a doctorate degree in Meteorology (Climate variability) obtained from the University of Cape Town in South Africa 2008. She earlier joined the undergraduate programme in Meteorology at the University of Nairobi in 1996 where she obtained her first degree, BSc (Hon) degree in Meteorology in the year 2000 and in 2003 she obtained her second degree (MSc) in environmental science at the University of Cape Town.

Dr. Kijazi is the first woman to be the Director General of the National Meteorological Service in the country and the first woman in the East African Region to hold this post and to be elected a member of the WMO Executive Council. This seat is beneficial to our country as the voice of Tanzania will be held in this international Organization and TMA will benefit from support on the enhancement of meteorological services. The report on the election of Dr. Kijazi to this august Body came when the TMA Ministerial Advisory Board (MAB) was in its 29^th session at Morogoro. The Chairman of the Board Mr. Morrison Mlaki congratulated Dr. Kijazi and said that such achievement is an indication of TMA’s commitment on fulfilling the international obligations related to Meteorology on behalf of the country. In the recent past, Tanzania held this position from 1995 to 2007 through the former TMA Director General, Dr. Mohamed S. Mhita who was also the president of WMO Regional Association one (Africa). We congratulate Dr. Kijazi and we wish her success in fulfilling her new international responsibilities.

Issued by Monica Mutoni; TMA Information Officer.