Govt Will Continue to Engage Local Engineers - Minister

The Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea has assured that his ministry will continue to engage the services of local engineers in the execution of government projects.

The Minister was reacting to media reports alleging that he said he would not engage local engineers.

Delivering the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the ongoing 50th Anniversary and the 2018 Engineering Week celebration held in Accra Mr. Atta Akyea said, "I never said I would not hire Ghanaian engineers. What I said was that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's presidency would not reward mediocrity."

The Works and Housing Minister, however, cautioned the engineers that if any engineer was found inflating figures and doing shoddy works, he or she would be sanctioned and if they are of criminal nature, they would be prosecuted.

The chairperson of the ceremony, Ing. Mrs. Carlien Bou-Chedid, President of the Ghana Institution of Engineering (GhIE), in her address, was in full support of the minister's call for sanction and admonished that, adherence to the code of ethics must be taken seriously.

"This year, we have had the unfortunate duty of sanctioning three of our members by suspending them and withdrew their licenses for one year," she said.

Justice Anin Yeboah, a Supreme Court Judge, who represented the Chief Justice, Justice Sophia Akuffo, called on engineers in the country to support in developing the nation because the nation could not develop without them, and also urged the leadership of the GhIE to enforce their rules and regulations and crack the whip on wrongdoers.

Fraternal message was delivered by Ing. Otis Anyaeji, President of West African Federation of Engineering Organisation (WAFEO) and past President of Nigerian Society of Engineers.

The ceremony was attended by high powered delegation from Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. Also in attendance were past presidents of GhIE, Council members, engineers from all over the country and the general public.

The 49th Presidential Inauguration and Banquet will be held today at the same venue and it is expected to be graced by the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, ministers of state and all engineers in the country and international engineering partners.

The week-long celebration and the year-long golden jubilee anniversary celebration are proudly supported by Tullow Oil, VRA, G&J Technical Services Limited, Bui Power Authority, Ghana Gas, Ghacem and other sponsors which mounted state-of-the-art exhibition stands for the participants.

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