6 Committees of Engineering Council inducted
The Ministry of Works and Housing has inducted members of six technical committees of the Engineering Council into office to facilitate the delivery of its mandate.
The Council, set up by an Act of Parliament, Act 819 (2011), is mandated to among others regulate the practice, education and training of engineers to secure the highest professional standards in the practice of Engineering for national development.
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It is also to effectively promote the advancement of science, engineering and technology among others.
Expected to advise the governing Board of the Engineering Council, the committees include the Finance and Administration; licensing and registration; and Public and International Affairs.
The others are standards and professional practice; disciplinary, legal and ethics, education and training.
Inducting the Members in Accra yesterday, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, commended members of the Council for the hard work they did in ensuring high engineering standards in the country.
Innovation
Mr Asenso-Boakye expressed the hope that the six committees would be innovative to help the Council to drive higher the already high standards of its operations.
“The world is fast moving towards efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of the goods and services necessary for accelerated economic growth. Provision of the infrastructural base to support this growth demands forward thinking and innovative engineering input.
Mr Asenso-Boakye said it was for those reasons that the Board of the Engineering Council deemed it appropriate to establish the Technical Committees that were expected to work with all relevant stakeholders, both locally and internationally, to meet the global and local demands and standards regarding engineering practice.
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“It is my expectation that the joint efforts of the Licensing and Registration, as well as the Professional Standards Committees will ensure that engineers who gain professional recognition go through the mill, such that they will be found worthy ambassadors of the profession wherever they find themselves.
“Certainly, majority of our engineers uphold high professional standards. However, it is also an undeniable fact that there are a few who do not drag the name of the profession in the mud. We have seen instances of buildings and other infrastructure collapsing and in some cases, failing to meet their design lives due to poor design.
“I, therefore, wish to charge members of the Legal and Ethics Committee to use all the legal tools available under the Act to ensure that engineering practice is well regulated to secure the highest professional standards. Moreover, members of the public could assist in this effort by reporting defective works to the Council so appropriate and timely corrective measures can be taken,” he said.
He also challenged the Education and Training Committee to develop and promote educational programmes that would stir up the creativity and enhance the innovative capacities of engineers to explore new ways of addressing existing challenges confronting the country in our efforts to meet our Sustainable Development Goals.
Development
The Registrar of the Engineering Council, Mr Wise Ametepe, said the council had come to stay to help deliver the highest professional, educational and training in the sector.
He said engineering was the foundation of any national development and indicated that almost all development problems were rooted in it.
Mr Ametepe also mentioned lack of adequate funding as a major challenge facing their operations and appealed to the sector minister to facilitate the approval of its fees and charges submitted to the Ministry of finance.
Writer’s email:doreen.andoh@graphic.com.gh