THE government has challenged the Association of Consulting Engineers Tanzania (ACET) to promote equality by giving young people and women equal chances to pursue careers as engineering consultants.
The remarks were made over the weekend by the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Works and Transport (Works), Ambassador-Cum-Engineer, Aisha Amour, during the 37th ACET Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Dar es Salaam.
“President Samia Suluhu Hassan has emphasised equality, not only for women but also for young people, as apparently many of them are not engaged in this construction sector,” he said.
She noted that it is beneficial for ACET to use the meeting, in collaboration with other stakeholders, to identify the root cause(s) of the problem, so that it could be addressed.
Ms Amour further urged ACET to step up their capacity-building efforts and devise a special strategy to develop women and youths, so that they have the skills to employ and create employment.
Ms Amour also tasked the Engineers Registration Board (ERB) to create a friendly environment for the registration of engineering consultants, to enable more engineers to register their companies.
Equally, the PS also urged the country engineers to change their lifestyle, including engaging in physical exercises in order to prevent themselves from Non- Communicable Diseases (NCDs) as a result of the nature of their employment.
In his introductory remarks, ACET President, Eng Chedi Masambaji stated that the association has identified a number of factors, including the challenging procurement requirements that contribute to the lack of opportunities for engineering consultants in the country.
Additionally, he claimed that many local companies lack sufficient capital to compete effectively.
According to him, other factors include unsatisfactory management, the lack of a policy to protect patriotic engineers, and the lack of special laws with the intention of giving priorities to the local engineers.
“For instance, if the government construction budget is 20tri/-, then 10tri/- should be allocated for local companies.” elaborated Eng Masambaji.
ACET is a voluntary nonprofit organisation that was established in 1985 to promote the practice of consulting engineering in Tanzania. It is made up of consulting engineers who operate in Tanzania.
ACET actively promotes the interests of its members and acts as a conduit for the dissemination of relevant information between members, industry associates, and clients. ACET became a member of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) in 1986
