Engineers chart infrastructure development course for Africa

World  engineers have urged Nigeria to, without further delay, lead other African countries in creating policy-based finance for infrastructure and industrial development projects through setting aside at least 30 percent of the federation account. In the same vein, the proceeds of the Central Bank’s discount rates, excess crude earnings should be harnessed into a policy-based […]

World  engineers have urged Nigeria to, without further delay, lead other African countries in creating policy-based finance for infrastructure and industrial development projects through setting aside at least 30 percent of the federation account. In the same vein, the proceeds of the Central Bank’s discount rates, excess crude earnings should be harnessed into a policy-based fiscal investment programme. Pension funds should also be applied into bankable productive infrastructure and industrial projects rather than leave such funds to lie fallow.
They made the submission at the close of their conference called World Engineering Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure (WECSI) 2014.
The conference jointly organized by the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO) advised African governments to ensure that timelines for project execution and completion are strictly observed.
It urged African countries to pay proper attention to the development of their iron and steel industry so as to provide the necessary vehicle for industrial transformation and growth.
The conference advised engineers to increase their degree of Business Intelligence by investing in information technology and developing their capacity to migrate from operational to strategic approaches if they are to be relevant and competitive in exploiting available opportunities.
African professional organizations were urged to partner with tertiary institutions and relevant regulatory bodies to review the standards of admission to tertiary curricula and post-graduation internship programmes so as to produce effective and promising skills-oriented graduates.
In the same vein, women were encouraged to read sciences and enrol for engineering courses to check the unacceptable low percentage of female engineers globally.
The communiqué which called on government and private bodies to invest in renewable energy solutions for rural dwellers was read by NSE president Engr. Isaac Ademola Olorunfemi to newsmen on Friday.
The conference was opened on Tuesday by President Goodluck Jonathan, represented by the Minster of Works, Arc. Mike Onolememen. Jonathan promised the engineers government’s support saying, “The organized private sector is encouraged to enter into partnership with government to provide and maintain infrastructure while conducive environment is being created to ensure that adequate returns on and protection of investments are guaranteed.
“The rapid growth in population has undoubtedly put tremendous strain on existing infrastructure. It’s in realization of this truism that my administration recently developed and approved the national integrated infrastructure master plan that will guide the development of critical national infrastructure in the next 40 years.”
Addressing the gathering, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Bala Mohammed represented by the FCT permanent secretary, Engr. John Chukwu enumerated achievements of FCT administration and appreciated engineers for playing vital role in the development of FCT since the federal government embarked on implementation of its vision for a modern capital territory.
The minister who lamented activities of quacks in the construction industry charged the engineers “to urgently stimulate engineering regulatory and monitoring powers with the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria to join forces with us to deal decisively with this menace.
“This is one way we can save ourselves the agony of losses incurred from faulty and substandard constructions,” he maintained.
He said a total of 10 new districts have been fully opened while infrastructure projects in five more districts have been approved by the federal executive council.
He announced that a firm known as American Building System International has been allocated 50 hectares of land to do the first phase of social housing in Abuja. This might be first social housing scheme in Nigeria.
Similarly, he said the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) is given 1,000 hectares of land to build affordable houses for low income earners in Abuja.
In the area of transportation, he said Abuja light rail mass transit project which took off a few years back has reached 31.64 percent completion and to meet the completion goal of 2015, government secured a China Bank loan of $500 million which has helped moved the project to completion goal.
“It is however challenging that while the administration has worked assiduously to provide the needed infrastructure, it’s however challenging that all the developments are still a far cry from our expectations. This is because it is only 10 districts envisaged in the FCT master plan have been completed,” the minister explained. He thanked the engineers for bringing the conference to Abuja.
The president of WFEO, Engr. Marwan Abdelhamid, said WFEO has national engineering organizations from 96 countries and represents 20 million engineers from around the world.
He charged NSE to lead the effort to bring together engineers on the African continent so they can be helped tackle ever emerging challenges. Only 12 out of the 54 countries on African continent have joined the 96-member WFEO.
NSE president Olorunfemi maintained that African engineers are not only united but also strategically positioned to collaborate with their governments to engineer sustainable infrastructural development.
Exhibition stands were mounted by various companies. The conference ended after NSE general meeting where e-voting system developed by NSE was used to vote officials into office.
Engr. Mustafa Balarabe Musa who had been president-elect of the Federation of African Engineering Organisations (FAEO) for two years was inaugurated. He now runs the secretariat of FAEO in Abuja. It was previously in South Africa.