Editorial: Support engineers’ body to crackdown on quacks

The Institution of Engineers Rwanda (IER), an umbrella organisation for professional engineers operating in the country, has embarked on a campaign to ensure enforcement of the law governing engineers. This follows concerns that the profession has been infiltrated by quacks putting the profession at risk of losing its credibility. The law governing engineers in Rwanda was adopted in 2012, giving powers to IER to regulate the provision of engineering services. However, five years since the law was enacted and the Institution of Engineers set up, membership of the body is only 500 professional engineers, yet the number of engineers in the country is on the rise. The move is timely because with a booming construction industry, the country requires a well regulated engineering profession to avoid compromising the quality and standards in the construction sector. Therefore, all stakeholders should heed the call by the body to provide the list of engineers and associates working in their institutions, their service providers, as well as the list of projects that are being implemented by their service providers. This applies to all institutions in the country that are linked and associated with implementation of infrastructure projects. In the past, we have seen a couple of incidents like fire outbreaks and building collapses as a result of shoddy work done without following the regulations governing the construction sector. Statistics from IER show that the number of engineers in Rwanda is growing, but only a few abide by the rules that regulate the profession. This is greatly limiting the growth of the engineering profession in Rwanda. At the end of a six-month inspection that the body has rolled out, all quark engineers should be reprimanded and subjected to punitive measures. Rwanda’s construction industry is booming and nothing should be left to chance to compromise this growth.

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Editorial: Support engineers’ body to crackdown on quacks