New Engineering Council paralysed until gazette published

Despite the works and transport ministry restoring power to the Engineering Council of Namibia (ECN) offices on Wednesday, the new board says it cannot make decisions until its appointment is gazetted, nor can it take control of the council’s bank accounts.According to ECN president Joseph Sosinyi, the ministry stepped in last Tuesday to settle the outstanding electricity bill, allowing prospective candidate engineers to once again submit applications for registration.Sosinyi explained that applications are evaluated externally by registered professionals before recommendations are endorsed by the council. He told Namibian Sun on Wednesday that the ministry has written to the council’s bank to transfer signing rights to the new board.Confidential sources, however, revealed that looming eviction, unpaid rent stretching back months and disconnected internet and telephone services continue to plague the institution.Registrar Charles Mukwasa confirmed the electricity payment but referred further questions to the ministry, describing the new board as “still fresh”. He said he would provide more details “once the situation at the Engineering Council of Namibia has normalised".Waiting Sosinyi stressed that the board’s hands remain tied. “There was a ruling by the chair of the disciplinary committee that all decisions of the previous council were null and void due to the fact that their appointment was never gazetted. We also cannot take any decisions until we are gazetted, nor can we effectively take over the bank accounts,” he said.“We were told that it would not take long to publish the gazette. In the meantime, the ministry will continue to pay salaries and for services until we are gazetted. The ministry says they have submitted all the documentation to the ministry of justice and the matter is under the attorney general. It is in the process but is taking longer than anticipated," he added.He noted further that “along with all six other council members, we want to follow the correct process. If we are going to challenge a previous ruling at a later stage, we must be properly gazetted."The deputy executive director of the works ministry, Jonas Sheelongo, acknowledged questions sent by this publication but had not responded by the time of the publication.Appointment procedure In parliament, opposition MP Vetaruhe Kandorozu pressed works minister Veikko Nekundi on the methodology used to appoint the board. Nekundi said the law was fully complied with. “The first point of departure is that the Engineering Council of Namibia is not a classified institution under the Public Enterprise Governance Act (PEGA). Only institutions classified under PEGA follow that process. In terms of the Engineering Council Act, members are appointed in accordance with section three, subsection one. That section specifies who the members to be appointed are and states that those members must be nominated by the institutions identified in the Act,” Nekundi explained.“On 7 July, the Minister of Works and Transport wrote letters to all the specified institutions, requesting them to nominate. By 24 July, the institutions had started submitting their nominations. Based on those nominations, the minister formally appointed the members," he added."Therefore, what is surprising is that the member [Kandorozu] seems to misunderstand that there are two different provisions of the law. This is not a matter of accusing anyone, but rather of clarifying the proper application of the Act.”Dismissal In June, Nekundi fired the previous ECN board, accusing members of failing to report on their achievements 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”.Former ECN president Sophia Belete-Tekie argued that the council appointed in August 2022 was constituted in accordance with the Engineering Profession Act, and no legal ground for their removal has been invoked.The former board further claimed the termination letters were circulated by the registrar, an official they claimed is facing serious allegations of misconduct. “The decision to consider dissolving the Council without properly investigating the serious allegations raised against the Registrar undermines the legal safeguards established by the Act,” their letter read.Despite the protests, Nekundi appointed new members in August.Nikanor@nmh-hub.com.na

New Engineering Council paralysed until gazette published

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Namibian Sun 2026-05-20

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New Engineering Council paralysed until gazette published

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Namibian Sun 2026-05-20

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