1 August 2007
The South African Weather Service in conjunction with the Mpumalanga
Department of Local Government and Housing will host a media capacity building
workshop on weather issues. The workshop will bring under one roof presenters,
reporters, producers, managers, meteorologists and climatologists amongst
others with an aim of:
* to bridge the gap between the providers and the users of weather and
climate information
* obtaining quality weather and climate related interviews and attractive
accurate stories
* give answers to meteorological and climatologically queries
* effective service delivery to the public
* to forge dialogue between meteorological experts and media for a common
goal.
The Weather Services has established a regional office at Kruger Mpumalanga
Airport and Radar coverage that became operational in March 2007 has been
installed at Skukuza. The institution is decentralising its services to all the
provinces including Mpumalanga for proper organisational structuring, greater
attention to regional needs, achieve greater responsiveness and develop
regional competences. Municipalities are key players in the workshop to have a
better understanding of weather patterns for information.
Mpumalanga province is home to 7,5% of the population of South Africa and
due to its proximity to Swaziland and Mozambique the province could be
subjected to severe weather conditions and poor observational coverage. The
province relies to a great extent on agriculture and therefore good weather
coverage is important.
Date: 7 August 2007
Time: 09h00
Venue: Riverside Government Complex (Building 8, Room 2 and 3)
Note: Two participants are invited per media house.
Please RSVP with:
Freddy Ngobe
Tel: 013 766 6086
Cell: 082 821 4148
Solly Shabangu
Tel: 013 766 6296
Cell: 072 220 6817
Contact:
Simphiwe Kunene
Cell: 082 413 3931
Issued by: Department of Local Government and Housing, Mpumalanga Provincial
Government
1 August 2007
