TANZANIA:Engineers VS Industrialization Drive

Engineers meeting here under the aegis of the Institution of Engineers, Tanzania (IET) said there would be no successful and sustained industrialization drive which can be achieved without participation of local technicians and engineers.

"One of the prerequisites of having an industrial based economy is availability of technically capable human resource capital which in a sense means availability of trained engineers and technicians", affirmed IET President Eng. Ngwisa W.Mpembe.

He said engineers must take a central role not only in the implementation but in planning and expertly advising the government on how best to implement the industrialization process "in an efficient and effective manner".

The IET official, who was speaking at the start of the 29th national conference of the professional body established in 1975, said engineers were among the technical human resource who can ensure the full cycle of industrialization would have lasting benefits to the economy.

"It is time our policy makers realized full involvement of our local engineers can enable the country ride a smooth path of attaining mid income status by 2025 via the vehicle of industrialization", Eng. Mpembe pointed out.

IET was established to spearhead the development and integration of science, engineering, technology as well as influence positive public policy and take a lead in promoting engineering excellence in Tanzania.

Regionally, the organization is a member of the Eastern African Federation of Engineering Organizations (EAFEO) and the Commonwealth Engineers Council (CEC) and the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) at the global level.

Opening the conference at Naura Springs Hotel, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Water and Engineering Prof. Kitila Mkumbo said the government recognises the role and place engineers can and should play in stimulating and spearheading the industrialization agenda.

"We cannot achieve our industrialization agenda without you. We need engineers to revive and rehabilitate our idle industries as well as in developing, running and maintaining new ones", he said.

According to recent statistics, there are a total of 19,000 trained engineers in Tanzania. But only 4,800 are professionals actively engaged in major civil works and consultancies.

Engineers, he added, would be required to construct and maintain transport infrastructure to ensure seamless and timely delivery of raw materials and manufactured goods. "The industrialization process is basically and essentially an engineering process".

The PS challenged the local engineers to take the lead role in the industrialization process, saying no single developed country in this world has developed without engineers "because the development process is inherently an engineering process".

Prof Mkumbo said more engineers were needed in the water supply sector not only to ensure reliable supply of the precious liquid to thousands of people but to repair the dilapidated water structures.

According to him, there were 39,080 water points which are not functioning, across the country especially in the rural areas. This constituted 32 per cent of 122,655 water points serving 31 million Tanzanians.

"This is a wasted investment we are not able to sustain the water supply infrastructure that we put in rural areas", the PS pointed out, adding that engineers were needed to accelerate the supply of clean and safe water.

IET is currently in the process of establishing a data bank of specialist engineers for the purpose of hastening the building of local capacity of all professionals in the industry.