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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 05 February 2009 |
The Enginerring Institution of Zambia (EIZ) was founded in 1955 to loo after the intrests of the profession.
New legislation- The EIZ Act No. 27, Cap 432 of the Laws of Zambia- was passed in 1992 by Parliament. In 1993, through Statutory Instrument 125, the Act came into force.
One of the key features of this Act is the creation of the Engineers’ Registration Board (ERB) and the need to register engineers and companies practising in Zambia. The Engineers’ Registration Board is affiliated to the EIZ, which is the Statuttory National Body entrusted with the professional affairs of engineering in Zambia.
In Zambia and in a number of countries, there is legislation to regulate the practice of all highly specialised professions, such as Accountancy,Medicine and Law. Professionals in this fields are allowed to offer their services to the public only if qualified and members of statutory bodies for their professions. The EIZ shoulders the responsibility for engineers. This has a two-fold advantages: ensuring public safetyand maintaining high standards in the engineering profession.
The code of ethics enshrined in the act is obligatory for engineers and companies. Adhering to it may be considered as the price for protection of the profession from charlatants. In other words, if engineering wants to be respected, then its members must be willing to submit to strict moral and professional rules. This reassures the public and reinforces their trust in the professionals holding themselves out as engineers.
The engineer in professional practice is considered an expert in his/her particular field. This confers on him/her a great advantage over a trusting public, which relies on his/her expert opinion for matters. Hence only academically qualified and experienced persons are members of EIZ. For engineering companies, only those meeting certain criteria are admitted as corporate members.
While there are clear penalties under the law for contravening its provision, the emphasis is on ecouraging compliance with the law and bringing non-compliant companies and individuals into agreement with the law.
This regulatory regime is till young and amendable to review, as the effects of defects of the law become apparent.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 28 February 2009 )
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