The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) says the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) owes it more than GH¢50 million in statutory payments.
GMet says the outstanding arrears are putting additional pressure on its finances and affecting its ability to sustain some of its operations.
Under the amended Ghana Meteorological Agency Act, 2019 (Act 1002), the GCAA is required to remit 10% of en-route, overflight and landing fees to GMet.
The Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), on the other hand, is required to remit 5% of airport passenger taxes to the agency.
GMet says an agreement was reached in March 2026 for the GCAA to settle outstanding payments. However, the agency says the arrears have not been fully paid.
Speaking to Citi News on Tuesday, August 18, GMet Director-General Dr Eric Asuman said a major challenge is the agency’s inability to independently verify the flight data used to determine its statutory share.
He said repeated attempts to gain access to the GCAA’s flight database had not yielded the desired results.
Dr Asuman said the lack of access makes it difficult for GMet to monitor flight movements and independently determine whether the statutory payments being made by the GCAA are accurate.
He said the dispute has persisted for years and has even attracted the intervention of Parliament’s Select Committee.
“Somewhere in 2023, Ghana Airport Company started paying its share of its contribution to Ghana Meteorological Agency as stated by the Act. And what they did was to request IATA, as an international air transport institution, to set GMeT up in their system so that GMeT’s share of the fund will be sent to GMeT directly.”
“IATA advised that Civil Aviation should give them an authorisation letter, authorising them to do the same for their share that should come to GMeT.”
He added: “But as we speak, since 2023 till now, that letter has not been sent. And when they also receive their funds, they don’t transmit the GMeT component, which is 10% landing, 10% en route, as stipulated by law to GMeT.”
“And it has been a serious challenge and a banter between the two institutions to the extent that the parliamentary select committee intervened on this matter. And so it is true. By law, they are supposed to give us this money, but they are not complying as stipulated by law.”
Dr Asuman said the financial pressure comes at a time when GMet needs more resources to strengthen weather forecasting, aviation meteorology and other services critical to national development.
The agency is therefore calling for a mechanism that will allow it to independently verify the flight data and ensure the statutory payments due to it are properly calculated and paid.
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