BIE vets out unscrupulous engineers
Bame Piet | Thursday October 10, 2013 22:48
Close to 20 applications from Chinese, Indian and Nigerian nationals, among others, have been rejected for further clarification.
'I don't have the correct figure at the moment, but there are more than 10 applications that had to be returned for further investigation of the authenticity of the qualifications,' said president of the Botswana Institution of Engineers Linda Moseki
Moseki told a press briefing yesterday that engineers have been given a full year, from August, to register with the Engineers Registration Board (ERB) or be barred from practicing in Botswana.
She said engineers should apply to the BIE Membership Committee.
She said the challenge is that some certificates from Chinese nationals, in particular, have not been translated into the English Language.
'Indeed we have several cases where some Chinese engineers had to be vetted from practising before their qualifications were verified. In those instances, we have requested them to certify their certificates with their embassies, before the membership committee can do thorough verification. The same applies to all other nationalities,' Moseki said.
Moseki was jointly addressing journalists with Keineng Kwerepe, Dr Joseph Chuma (University of Botswana Dean of Faculty of Engineering) and Bashi Marumo ahead of the Engineers Week scheduled for next week to mark BIE's 30th anniversary.
She said that whoever is found in breach of the Engineers Registration Act will be charged accordingly.
The Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology (MIST) recently revealed that it has saved millions of Pula that were to be paid to fraudulent claims by private engineering consultants and contractors, often made in connivance with government officials.
Kwerepe said in the near future, BIE may consider naming and shaming individuals or companies in serious breach of ethics. He said several measures have been put in place to address any form of behaviour that has the potential to tarnish the image of engineers.
Meanwhile, the engineers revealed that BIE is now playing a role in the direct allocation of projects at MIST, the appointment of Construction Industry Board members, the review of building regulations, and the Botswana Roads Manual, among other things.