Engineering Council of Namibia

Engineering Council of Namibia your local networking partner in engineering 9 Love Street, PO Box 1996, Windhoek, Namibia, Phone: +264-61-233264, Fax: +264-61-232478, E-mail: ecn@mweb.com.na Document updated: June 2005 HISTORIC OVERVIEW & STATUTORY FUNCTIONS Introduction Prior to 1986 all professional engineers resident in the then South West Africa were registered under the auspices of the Engineering Council of South Africa. In 1986 when it became clear that there was a need to register engineers in South West Africa the Engineering Council of Namibia (ECN) was formally constituted by the Engineering Profession Act, 1986 (Act No. 18 of 1986). The Engineering Profession Act, 1986, (Ref.: Act No. 18 of 1986) was promulgated on 11 August 1986 when the Engineering Council of Namibia was established and came into force on 1 February 1987 after publishing this Act in the Government Gazette. This Act was amended in 1991 to suit the needs of the independent Namibia and is now again under scrutiny to conform to the present requirements not only for Namibia, but also for the global engineering environment. Apart from administrative provisions, the principal focus of the Act is aimed at promoting the safety, health and interests of the wider Namibian public in relation to the engineering work and professional conduct of persons registered with the ECN. (Ref.: Code of Conduct). This would also address the eradication of engineering work being done by non-qualified persons and register competent persons qualified for this type of work. History of Registration In 1986 the Engineering Council s main task was to draft the necessary regulations and rules for the smooth operation of all functions within the new Act. The registration of professional engineers who had been registered under the auspices of the previous government was a primary task to keep the engineering fraternity going under the dispensation of the new Act. This was no easy task, as politically the previous dispensation was not seen as a favourable platform to start from. Therefore, the ECN was often seen as if trying to honour the rules of the previous dispensation. However, since the Council is a statutory body honouring the laws of an independent Namibia, it would in its own right try to enhance the requirements of State in keeping the engineering obligation to State to the minimum. Obviously this can only

be done effectively by keeping the registration standards high and by minimising any possible lawsuits to the government triggered by any possible defaults of incompetent engineers. (Ref.: Requirements for Registration as Professional Engineer). The actual registration process could only start when a Proclamation was published in the Official Gazette, which appeared on 17 September 1987. The numbers started with 26 engineers registered in November 1987 and progressed to 103 registered engineers on 31 March 1988. Below a statistical overview over the years shows that the numbers registered were initially quite low, but picked up momentum after independence in March 1990 when the true mission of the Council became evident. Since the early 1990 s the numbers have practically doubled and now a record of 682 professional engineers, incorporated engineers and engineering technicians are registered by the Namibian Engineering Council in its own right. Table 1: Statistical Overview CATEGORY Professional Engineer Prof Engineer in Training Incorporated Engineer Incorporated Eng in Training Engineering Technician Eng Technician in Training 1988 1989 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2003 2004 103 158 177 187 200 209 242 244 247 264 270 282 304 311 1 13 39 41 41 39 42 42 43 45 48 50 95 115-12 65 82 91 92 99 94 99 100 109 109 50 51 7 16 47 49 54 62 43 57 60 55 48 46 24 24 - - 3 5 5 5 2 2 5 8 11 12 110 114 3 9 19 19 23 26 22 24 25 29 29 30 62 67 TOTAL 114 208 350 383 414 433 450 463 479 501 515 529 645 682 Chronological Implementation of Statutory Functions The Engineering Profession Act, 1986 (Ref: Act 18 of 1986) came into operation on 1 February 1987. Laws are passed to serve the public interest and the purpose of this Act is to ensure that practitioners of the engineering profession provide the public with high standard engineering services at lowest cost, in terms of the utilisation of human and material resources. 2

The Engineering Council of Namibia, established by the Act as the controlling statutory body for the profession, is empowered to perform certain functions and duties. The statutory work was done in accordance with the dates as summarised in the table below: Table 2: Dates when Statutes where Promulgated Regulation No.: Description: Date of Promulgation: Act 18 of 1986 Engineering Profession Act 11 August 1986 Regulation 228 AG 1 Regulation 159 Regulation 160 Regulation 161 Regulation for the Appointment of Members of the SWA Engineering Council Regulation for the Commencement of the Engineering Profession Act, 1986 (Act 18 of 1986) Regulation for the Recognition of Engineers Institutes Regulation for the Remuneration and Allowances payable from monies of the South West Engineering Council to Members of the Council or of a Committee of the Council Regulation regarding the Procedure for Registration of, and the Registration and Annual Fees payable by Professional Engineers, Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians and their counterparts in-training, and other Fees 20 November 1986 31 January 1987 17 September 1987 17 September 1987 17 September 1987 R3063 (RSA) Reservation of Work for Professional Engineers 8 August 1969 R1737 (RSA) Tariff of Fees for Professional Engineers 22 August 1986 AG 5 Proclamation that sections 16 (1) (a), (b), and (c) come into operation 10 March 1989 Amendment Act 25 of 1991 (Ref.: Act No. 25 of 1991) Name change 21 December 1991 Primarily the Engineering Council of Namibia (ECN) is the statutory body that: 1. is responsible for considering and deciding upon applications for registration of professional engineers, incorporated engineers and engineering technicians and their counterparts in training, 3

2. is responsible for whatever steps it may consider necessary for the protection of the public in their dealings with registered engineers and technicians, 3. is responsible for the maintenance of the engineering integrity, 4. is responsible for the enhancement of the status of the engineering profession, and 5. is responsible for the improvement of the services and the standards of professional qualifications of such registered persons. The Act sets the minimum educational qualifications and experience for persons wishing to be registered by the Council as professional engineers, incorporated engineers or engineering technicians. The Act also sets the prerogative of the Council to determine what other qualifications are equivalent to the minimum and what engineering experience is of sufficient variety and of a satisfactory nature and standard for registration. The Act also sets out the conditions, mainly of improper conduct, under which the Council may refuse to register a person or cancel the registration of any person already registered. The Act also sets out what constitutes improper conduct on the part of registered persons and the disciplinary powers, which Council can exercise against registered persons. In order to achieve the Engineering Profession Act s main focus, ECN is empowered to perform a variety of functions, such as: Setting and auditing of academic standards for purposes of registration through a process of accreditation of engineering programmes at the University of Namibia and the Polytechnic of Namibia (Namibia s University of Science and Technology). Setting and auditing of professional development standards through the provision of guidelines which set out ECN s post-qualification requirements for registration in the three professional categories of registration, namely Professional Engineer, Incorporated Engineer and Engineering Technician. Prescribing a Code of Conduct (Ref.: Code of Conduct) and Codes of Practice (Ref.: Code of Practice), and enforcing such conduct. Identifying work of an engineering nature that should be reserved for registered persons. Advising the Minister of Works, Transport & Communication on matters relating to the engineering profession and cognate matters. 4

Recognizing of professional associations, such as engineering associations, institutes, institutions and societies. Publishing of a guideline tariff of fees (Ref.: Tariff of Fees) for consulting work, in consultation with government, the profession and industry. Doing such other things as may be necessary for the proper performance of its functions in terms of the Engineering Profession Act. ECN sees itself in partnership with the State and the engineering profession to promote a high level of education and training of practitioners in the engineering profession in order to facilitate full recognition of professionalism in the engineering profession, both locally and abroad. It enjoys full autonomy, although it is accountable to the State, in the profession and from the public for the fair and transparent administration of its business in the pursuit of its goals. However, in pursuing this goal, ECN has an implied responsibility to ensure that the interests of the profession are also promoted. The interest of the public and the country can only be served properly if a profession is healthy and strong. For this reason ECN promotes the well-being of the voluntary societies who are active in engineering. Since the societies are the instruments through which the interests of the practitioners are served, a good balance between "public interests" (ECN) and "own interests" (Societies) should be maintained. Draft Engineering Profession Bill In 1995 the Engineering Profession Act, 1986 as amended in 1991 (Ref.: Act No. 25 of 1991), was placed under scrutiny and some changes were proposed for implementation as new statutes to the ECN. After an Open Forum on the Bill was held in 2003, these changes were included in the Bill and submitted to the Minister of Works, Transport & Communication for approval and these proposed changes are: (1) To incorporate the Amendment Act in the main Act; (2) To bring the Act in line with the Constitution by incorporation of the female gender; (3) To provide for the University of Namibia and the Polytechnic of Namibia (Namibia s University of Science and Technology) to be represented on the Council; (4) To streamline the process of amending the tariffs of consulting fees for engineering work; (5) To include engineering technicians in respect of the tariffs of consulting fees for engineering work; 5

(6) To remove the provision where the Minister can prescribe reserved engineering work, as the definition would not be feasible in practice; instead, provisions have been included which prohibit persons from performing any work of an engineering nature if they are not qualified by virtue of their education and training to perform such work; (7) To make it unnecessary to appoint vice-chairpersons of the committees of the Council; (8) To combine the three sections providing for the registration of Professional Engineers, Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians, as well as their counterparts in training, into one section; (9) To remove the provision for temporary registration as its efficacy is highly questionable; (10) To remove the residency requirement for registration purposes as it is not considered necessary; (11) To amend the provision that engineers in training must receive certificates of registration as this practice has led to abuse - instead they are to receive only letters of notification of registration; (12) To provide for the power of the Council to exempt persons from registration when deemed appropriate, as in the case of the engineers and technicians of external donor agencies; (13) To amend the period in which registration lapses due to non-payment from six to twelve months; (14) To increase the amounts of all fines substantially in line with inflation; (15) To provide for the prohibition of employers in respect of the performance by unregistered persons of work of engineering nature; (16) To enable registered engineers and engineering technicians to form companies and other juristic persons to do engineering work if these are effectively controlled by one or more of them; (17) To provide for registered persons in training, and persons who are not registrable, who assist in the performance of work of engineering nature to be under the direct supervision of appropriate registered persons; (18) To provide for greater protection for the members of the Council and its officials from liability; (19) To provide for the inclusion of a three-year bachelor s degree in engineering as an alternative requirement for the registration as an incorporated engineer; (20) To provide for a three-year diploma with an adequate engineering content to qualify a holder thereof for registration as an engineering technician. 6

Financial History There was no financial assistance given from the government although the Engineering Council of Namibia has a statutory obligation and to date no grants were forthcoming from state coffers. The finances started off with an interest free loan from the Engineering Profession Association (Ref.: ACEN Association of Consulting Engineers of Namibia) to the amount of N$ 2433.00, which was paid off at a rate of N$100.00 per month. The Engineering Council has to date a clean record and also hires an office and employs the registrar out of its own funding through annual registration fees. This could only be done through an effort to generate funds through a speeded up registration process and in 1990, when the Public Service Code gave recognition to the Incorporated Engineers and the Engineering Technicians this started to change when most of the government employed Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians started to register. Council Members Council Members are appointed according to the stipulations of the Engineering Profession Act (Ref.: Act No. 18 of 1986) and are holding office for a period of 4 years. The following members were holding office for the obligatory four-year terms, as indicated in the different years given below: 1 st SWA/Namibia Engineering Council Period served on Council 1987 to 1991 Members Alternate Members KAH Lund - President G Kuchling WHF Nitsche - Vice-President GRH Täschner JCR Swanepoel IE Perry RIDM Myburgh HD Mutschler LP Liebenberg MD Redecker WG Schulte HJ Hennes M Stafford-Evans MMFM von Jeney de Borosjenö WJ Durand JM du Plessis PJ Maritz W Ravenscroft S van Staden P de Wet Registrar: 1988 - Mrs M Clack / 1989 - Mrs A Deysel 7

2 nd Engineering Council of Namibia Period served on Council 1991 to 1995 (Period extended to end 1995) Members Alternate Members KAH Lund - President IE Perry WHF Nitsche - Vice-President FU Jeske F Nadimi/MD Redecker JC Lamprecht JH Byrnes/J Taylor R Gevers GF Martin H-W R Mathaei M Stafford-Evans/A Gewers A Gewers MMFM von Jeney de Borosjenö HJ Hennes EH Lowe V Boscovic GK Enkara JM Nakaambo S van Staden JB Wiese/JP Wasserfall Registrar: 1989 - Mrs A Deysel (passed away) / 1995 Mrs R Slabber 3 rd Engineering Council of Namibia Period served on Council 1995 to 1999 Members Alternate Members KAH Lund - President JR Bührmann WHF Nitsche - Vice-President JU Jeske J Taylor FN Marx GF Martin/GR Brettschneider JC Lamprecht AC van der Merwe H-W R Mathaei G Milton L Ebrecht MMFM von Jeney de Borosjenö HJ Hennes EH Lowe V Boskovic E Haihambo JM Nakaambo JP Wasserfall JM Roussouw Registrar: Mrs R Slabber 4 th Engineering Council of Namibia Period served on Council 1999 to 2003 (Period extended to end 2004) Members Alternate Members WHF Nitsche - President FU Jeske E Haihambo - Vice-President F Vahekeni KAH Lund DH van der Merwe J Taylor FN Marx GR Brettschneider JC Lamprecht Ms S Tekie H-W R Mathaei MMFM von Jeney de Borosjenö HJ Hennes L Ebrecht G Milton L Kiggundu V Malango JP Wasserfall WB Haussler Registrar: Mrs R Slabber 8

5 th Engineering Council of Namibia Period to serve on Council 2004 to 2008 Members Alternate Members MF von Jeney - President HJ Hennes E Haihambo - Vice-President L Kiggundu R de Witt R Kubas D Maxwell DH van der Merwe GR Brettschneider JC Lamprecht FU Jeske E Albrecht Ms S Tekie H-W R Mathaei GE Milton JK Leicher Ms RN Hanghuwo A Mwazi JP Wasserfall W Holch Registrar: Mrs R Slabber Educational Progress It was good news when the government approved the Namibia Qualifications Act, 1994, as it ensured that registration would be maintained at a competent level and would also be internationally acceptable. Educational progress made included the change from a National Diploma to the S-Courses at the Polytechnic of Namibia as from January 1997. In 1998 the Cape Technikon and the Pretoria Technikon confirmed that they would accept the previous holders of a National Diploma obtained at the Polytechnic of Namibia to continue with the B Tech degree at their institutions. The first B Tech degrees in Mechanical Engineering were offered in January 2000. In 1999 the University of Namibia approved the institution of the first and second year of a BSc Engineering degree, which would need a bridging course. The ECN has proactively supported the new developments at Unam. Further studies would then be done at either the University of Cape Town (UCT) or at the Witwatersrand University (Wits). During a workshop held in Windhoek the curricula of the engineering courses were scrutinised and further co-operation with the SADC states Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa were underlined. In 1999 Government accepted the third category within the Engineering Profession Act, 1986, and all posts graded for professional engineers could also be filled by registered Incorporated Engineers. This is a major breakthrough, as the shortage of professional engineers in Namibia left many positions in government unfilled for long periods of time and were then mainly filled with university graduates who then left the government s employ after attaining their professional registration status. 9

Certification Council for Technikon Education (Sertec) This certification council has now been renamed to Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC) and has been instrumental in accrediting all courses in engineering at the Polytechnic of Namibia (Namibia s University of Science and Technology) for quality standards. The ECN has worked in close co-operation with this body and is very pleased that the standards at the Polytechnic of Namibia (Namibia s University of Science and Technology) compare well with international requirements. They will also be instrumental in keeping standards in line with international requirements. Merit Awards The Engineering Council has established a Merit Award Fund to support students at the Polytechnic of Namibia (Namibia s University of Science and Technology) for merits achieved in the different engineering categories. These awards are to reward students annually who have been top of their class and have achieved the best results. Criteria for these awards are set by the ECN and the awards are handed over by the President of the Engineering Council of Namibia. Hourly Rate for Consulting Engineers The hourly rate has to be adapted with inflationary changes and has since the Council s inception been updated very leniently. On 1 January 1998 the rate for consulting engineers of N$ 180.00 was increased to N$ 250.00. Another increase of the hourly rate was granted in 2002 when the rate was increased to N$350.00. Now the costs have staggered to a high N$ 740.00 per hour, which still awaits the approval from government (Ref.: Hourly Rate). Alliance of Construction Professions (ACP) Government expressed the need to the engineers, architects and quantity surveyors that the construction profession in Namibia needed the active support of the professions and therefore the ACP (Ref.: Constitution ACP) was formed. This body pursues the crucial contact between the Ministry of Works, Transport & Communication and the construction industry mainly to support previously disadvantaged entrepreneurs who are in the business but cannot make ends meet in this highly competitive environment. Issues like legislation, emerging contractors training, and related issues to the construction industry would be addressed. Council for Built Environment (BECON) To further strengthen the emerging contractors the Namibian Government (Ministry of Works, Transport & Communication), the Alliance of Construction Professions (ACP) (Ref.: Constitution ACP) and the Construction Industries Federation (CIF) are in discussion to 10

institute the Council for Built Environment (BECON) (Ref.: Constitution of BECON) in Namibia to enhance particularly the building industry. During October 2004 a draft constitution (Ref.: Constitution ACP) has been submitted by the ACP for final approval by the government. Engineering Newsletter Engineering Review In 1997 the Council decided to publish a newsletter called the Engineering Review (Ref.: Engineering Review), and brings news on engineering matters such as Council matters, legal matters, training issues, construction projects, financial issues etc. to their registered members, scholars and to all engineering related institutions. This newsletter has been a huge success and is growing in content and support from year to year. It is distributes widely to engineering institutions and anybody wishing to receive this newsletter should contact the registrar s office during morning office hours. 11