Engineering Council Board inaugurated
The Ministry of Works and Housing has inaugurated an eight-member Board of Directors for the Engineering Council to regulate the practice of engineering in the country.
With the Provost of the College of Engineering, Prof. Mark Adom-Asamoah, serving as the acting Chairman, the board has been charged with the mandate to undertake structural integrity tests of public buildings.
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Members
Other members of the board are the Registrar of the Engineering Council, Mr Valence Wise Ametefe, a registered professional engineer, Mr Frederick Kwabena Akwaboah, a registered engineering technologist, Mr Philip Kwame Aheto, and a registered engineering technician, Mr Eric Otenkorang Ankra.
The rest are a registered engineering craftsman, Mr Eric Attah-Sonno, a legal practitioner, Mr Ebenezer Kwesi Heizel, and a registered engineer, Madam Alberta Siaw Kwarko.
At the inaugural ceremony at the ministry last Thursday, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, commended the members while assuring them that the ministry would provide every assistance to enable them to function effectively.
He noted that engineering practice in the country had exciting prospects which would not only address the societal problems but also boost its economy.
“I, therefore, entreat the board to use its knowledge and experience to enrich the strategic decisions of the council to enable it to deliver on its mandate as enshrined in the Engineering Act,” Mr Asenso-Boakye said.
He indicated that the mandate of the Council was to register, licence and certify engineering practitioners through the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE) and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).
That, he said, was primarily to help distinguish between the various categories of professional practitioners from unprofessional bodies or individual practitioners.
“This is necessary to protect the public and maintain confidence in the profession for societal and national development,” he noted.
The minister noted that engineering continued to transform every aspect of human lives, be it transportation, health or technology.
Unfortunately, he said most people, particularly those outside the field of engineering, did not pay attention to the work as long as their devices were working.
“This makes engineering very essential in solving the world's problems, for which reason, every effort must be made to protect the sanctity of the profession,” Mr Asenso-Boakye stated.
Gratitude
The acting Chairman of the board expressed gratitude to the government for the confidence reposed in them by appointing them as the board members of the council.
Prof. Adom-Asamoah indicated that the vehicle that drove industrialisation worldwide was the engineering profession.
For that reason, he pledged to serve in the interest of the nation in ensuring the regulation of engineering practice to help to secure the highest professional standards in the practice of engineering.
He further expressed the hope that the ministry would assist the board with the needed support in the discharge of its duties.
