Engineering Council awaits Gazette
New board unable to make decisions until Gazetted
The board of the Engineering Council of Namibia cannot make any decisions or take control of the council's bank accounts until its appointment is published in the official gazette.
Although the Ministry of Construction and Transport restored power to the offices of the Engineering Council of Namibia (ECN) last week, the new board says it cannot make any decisions or take control of the council's bank accounts until its appointment is published in the Gazette.According to ECN president Joseph Sosinyi, the ministry intervened on Tuesday last week to settle outstanding electricity bills so that prospective engineers could once again apply for registration.
Sosinyi told Network Media Hub (NMH) on Wednesday that the ministry had written to the council's bank requesting that signing rights be transferred to the new board. However, confidential sources revealed that the threat of eviction, months of unpaid rent, and the interruption of internet and telephone connections continue to weigh heavily on the institution.
According to Sosinyi, the board's hands remain tied. “The chairman of the disciplinary committee has ruled that all decisions made by the previous council are invalid because their appointment was never published in the official Gazette. We cannot make any decisions until it is published, nor can we effectively take over the bank accounts,” he said. “We have been told that publication in the Government Gazette will not take long. In the meantime, the ministry will continue to pay salaries and services until we are published. The ministry states that it has submitted all documents to the Ministry of Justice and that the matter is now with the Attorney General. The process is ongoing but is taking longer than expected,” he said.
In Parliament, opposition MP Vetaruhe Kandorozu questioned Minister of Construction and Transport Veikko Nekundi about the appointment of the board. Nekundi insisted that the law had been fully complied with.
In June, Nekundi dismissed the previous ECN board and accused its members of failing to submit reports on their performance since taking office in 2022. The dismissed board members challenged Nekundi's decision, calling it “unlawful,” “humiliating,” and “a threat to the country's regulatory integrity.”
The former board further claimed that the termination letters had been circulated by the registrar, an official who, according to them, is facing serious allegations of misconduct. Despite the protests, Nekundi proceeded with the appointment of new members in August, who are now awaiting publication in the official gazette before they can officially take up their duties.