Institution of Engineering and Technology, Ghana Inducts New Members

Engr. Eric Atta-Sonno, President, Institution of Engineering and Technology, Ghana (IETG), has assured its members that the IETG Council is taking the necessary steps to put at their disposal, the required tools that will make them truly professional.

Engr. Atta-Sonno noted that for IETG to meet the challenges of a post-modern professional institution, it would require partnership between the Institute and its members, where members would be required to strictly honour their responsibilities by regularly and promptly paying their subscriptions and by participating in Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Programmes, among others.

Delivering the keynote address at the induction of 226 new members into the IETG in Accra, last Thursday, September 20, 2018, he pledged the commitment of IETG Council to leading with policies, programmes, directives and supervision within the framework of IETG Constitution.

He disclosed that IETG Council continued to build effective bridges on matters of mutual concern, including the harmonization of various policies as well as the development of a Draft Legislative Instrument (L.I.), under the aegis of the Engineering Council of Ghana, to give effect to the Engineering Council Act, 2011 (Act 819).

Engr. Atta-Sonno disclosed that the Council had, since its inauguration, embarked on a number of measures to achieve the strategic objectives of IETG.

These strategic objectives, he said, were the enhancement of the professional capacity of all members; working in partnership with other professional institutions towards the promotion of quality engineering practice; and the provision of responsible stewardship of the resources through strengthening of institutional structures.

He bemoaned the engineering lapses that had plagued the national landscape and undermined the integrity of the engineering profession, citing the collapse of buildings under construction, rampant market fires, fast deterioration of roads soon after construction, perennial floods and the challenges within the sanitation and utility sectors.

Engr. Atta-Sonno identified the causes of these lapses as inadequate training or the lack of it, insufficient exposure for engineering practitioners, failure of engineering designs and the poor supervision or a combination of all of them.

He, however, gave the assurance that the current Council of IETG was poised to effectively address the lapses.

He made it clear to the inductees that their induction into the engineering institution was a call to responsibility and urged them to pick up the challenge by joining forces to uplift the image of the engineering profession.

Engr. Atta-Sonno advised them to commit to the highest standards of professional excellence and integrity for the dignity of the profession, and for the ultimate good of humanity.

In a statement, Engr. E.W.K. Donkor, Executive Secretary, IETG, described the induction ceremony as a new milestone and a novelty to entrench professionalism in the practice of Engineering in Ghana.

Engr. Donkor explained that unlike previous inductions during which candidates were inducted as Corporate, Associate or Technician Associate members, the present induction was a migration of the Institution to the categories as set out in Act 819, namely the Professional Engineer, Professional Engineering Technologist, Engineering Technician and the Engineering Craftsman, who have been assigned various roles in the Engineering value chain under the Act.

He reminded them of the introduction of a licensing regime which required an Upgrading Professional Examination and Interview, while participation in CPD course programmes and being in 'Good Standing' as members of IETG would be pre-requisites for the annual renewal of licenses.

IETG is a Professional Body, first registered as the Ghana Institution of Technician Engineers under the Professional Bodies Registration Decree (NRCD 143) 1973 on the 30th of May, 1986.

The Institution later rebranded to the 'Institution of Incorporated Engineers' on the 27th of August, 1996 and then to the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Ghana to conform to global trends in the engineering profession.

IETG derives its membership from the Mechanical, Civil, Automotive, Marine, Aviation, Electrical, Electronics, Chemical and Allied engineering professions, and is mandated by the law of Incorporation with the Registrar-General's Department to register Incorporated Engineers, Technologists, Engineering Technicians and Craftsmen.

Currently, the two engineering professional bodies that license engineering practitioners in Ghana are the Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE) and Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE) which together form the Engineering Council under Act 819.

Source: ISD (G.D. Zaney, Esq.)

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