President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete talking to engineers not in the picture during the 6th Annual Engineers Day at Kunduchi Beach Hotel on the outskirts of the city. On President’s left is the ERB Board Chairman Professor Ninatubu Lema. Earlier Professor Lema addressed a press conference on the eve of the occasion and said that Tanzania has few engineers a factor which is cited as one more cause for underdevelopment. He noted that, with the current population of 40 million in the country, it means that one engineer represents about 50,000 people. In comparison, Japan has a ratio of one engineer for 55 people. Tanzania’s output of 500 engineers annually is far below China’s output and considering Tanzania’s population, about 20,000 engineers are needed per annum. The Chairman said, there was not a single developed country that achieved its prosperity without engineers. Engineers are the ones who translate science and technology into development. For instance Japan is a powerful country because it has a well-developed engineering sector.
Adherence to any professional ethic is of the basic importance towards ensuring work excellence, he said. Under the concept, engineers have a great role to play in this aspect in order to avoid complaints from the general public of shoddy construction caused as a result of poor supervision. Another major key aspects the President told the engineering community he emphasized on Tanzania’s engineers’ development capabilities as a milestone of the Tanzania’s infrastructural development. He emphasized that their technology is a catalyst of the national development.
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A cross section of engineers who paid attention to President Jakaya Kikwete while talking to them during the 6th Annual Engineers’ Day at Kunduchi Beach Hotel.
For this year’s occasion the theme was “Infrastructure as a social-Economic tool for development opportunities and challenges”. Addressing the occasion on its second day, President Kikwete challenged stakeholders to produce more engineers who would help to cope with the country’s development needs and targets. He said “Tanzania can produce 1,000 engineers every year”. It had earlier been learnt that Tanzania produces 500 engineers annually. He underscored the importance of investing in education especially after allocating the highest ministerial budget to the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training.
When the President had finished talking to engineers, he was taken to an open space in front of the hotel to take group photographs with engineers as can be seen below here.
The President said that poor infrastructure greatly hinders effective access to attain economic goal. He therefore emphasized a point of engineering importance when he elaborated on agricultural activities to effective rural-urban linkages citing the fact that, access to agricultural inputs as well as products is still unreliable in the country. He said there is also a limited technological capacity and inadequate technical support services to facilitate full application of various technology and mechanization and proper management of the environment in all sectors of national economy. The President noted that, the government is quite aware that qualified, committed and motivated engineering experts are needed to develop, manage and maintain either areas of physical infrastructure.
The first photograph the President took with members of the ERB Board.
The areas include rail, marine and air transport systems, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and road transport network. The government has made efforts in investing heavily in infrastructure development, particularly in roads, bridges and ferries for the purposes of linking up different parts of the country. These efforts needs to be further consolidated and improved in order to have a full infrastructure coverage. The President insisted that engineers should therefore be in the forefront as the main actors in all endeavors. The nation counts on the engineering community to be one of the major vehicles for realization of its development initiatives, objectives and aspirations since most of them depend to a large extent on the ability to introduce and maintain technology and technological change as a permanent on-going process.
The second photograph, the President took it with students from various engineering disciplines of higher learning intitutions who had excelled in their final examination of the academic year 2007/2008
This ability requires the capacity to choose, acquire adapt, generate and effect engineering applications and solutions. It is the engineers who conducts research on, design and manage operations, maintenance and repair of structures, machines, plants and equipment. He said it is obvious that there are some unregistered engineers who are still practicing the profession illegally. He mentioned there are a number of malpractices which he didn’t specify, saying is being shown in local government authorities who doesn’t value construction works.
In the third photograph, The President took with practicing women engineers of various disciplines in the country.
Without engineers who does the work of designing and structural management to suit the construction sector, there could not have been existing a developed global economy. Thus engineers are very important professional people in the building of any country. Tanzanian government has put in place the country’s development vision 2025 and has also in place a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) both of which clearly stipulate the role of engineers in their endeavor to achieve the desired development and reduction of poverty.
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