Engineers doubt council president's qualifications
The Namibian Society of Engineers charges that Engineering Council of Namibia president Markus von Jeney is not eligible to head the professional council because he doesn't have an engineering degree.
The Namibian Society of Engineers (NASE) has announced its intention to investigate Engineering Council of Namibia (ECN) president Markus von Jeney's qualifications and eligibility to head the council.
In a statement on Friday, NASE secretary for industrial relations and institutional liaison Kefas Kanyungule demanded a detailed summary of Von Jeney's qualifications and supporting documents for his appointment as president of the council.
“These revelations point to Mr Von Jeney's ineligibility to be either a member of the council or president of ECN and come at a time when many Namibians have grave and legitimate concerns over the way the affairs of the council are handled, including the criteria used in the registration of engineers,” said Kanyungule.
A local weekly recently reported that Von Jeney had admitted that he did not have a Bachelor of Engineering Science degree that would allow him to be classified as a professional engineer.
Section 6 (5) of the Engineering Professions Act of 1986 states: “A member of the council who is not a professional engineer or who in the period between the commencement of this Act does not qualify to be registered as a professional engineer shall not be elected president or vice-president of the council or preside at any meeting thereof.”
The Act further states that the qualification required to be registered as a professional engineer is a four-year bachelor's degree in the engineering sciences awarded at a university recognised for this purpose by the council.
When contacted for comment, Von Jeney said: “I am not talking to the media anymore.”
According to his Linkedin profile, Von Jeney studied at the University of Pretoria from 1962 until 1963, after which he served as a director at NamPost between 1994 and 2000.
He also served as a director at NamWater between 2006 and 2010 and then as commissioner at the National Commission for Science, Research & Technology (NCRST) from 2011 until 2015.
According to Linkedin, Von Jeney currently works at the Ministry of Defence as the head of the construction and maintenance directorate, and serves as chairman of the Namibian Standards Institution Impartiality Committee.
It is not the first time the society of engineers has taken issue with Von Jeney, whom they have accused of deliberately barring young professionals from being registered.
“More local engineers, who are mainly those of colour, are being pushed over to register as incorporated engineers (a category lower than professional engineer) or technicians, even though they meet the requirements to be professional engineers,” they said in a statement in March this year.
JEMIMA BEUKES
In a statement on Friday, NASE secretary for industrial relations and institutional liaison Kefas Kanyungule demanded a detailed summary of Von Jeney's qualifications and supporting documents for his appointment as president of the council.
“These revelations point to Mr Von Jeney's ineligibility to be either a member of the council or president of ECN and come at a time when many Namibians have grave and legitimate concerns over the way the affairs of the council are handled, including the criteria used in the registration of engineers,” said Kanyungule.
A local weekly recently reported that Von Jeney had admitted that he did not have a Bachelor of Engineering Science degree that would allow him to be classified as a professional engineer.
Section 6 (5) of the Engineering Professions Act of 1986 states: “A member of the council who is not a professional engineer or who in the period between the commencement of this Act does not qualify to be registered as a professional engineer shall not be elected president or vice-president of the council or preside at any meeting thereof.”
The Act further states that the qualification required to be registered as a professional engineer is a four-year bachelor's degree in the engineering sciences awarded at a university recognised for this purpose by the council.
When contacted for comment, Von Jeney said: “I am not talking to the media anymore.”
According to his Linkedin profile, Von Jeney studied at the University of Pretoria from 1962 until 1963, after which he served as a director at NamPost between 1994 and 2000.
He also served as a director at NamWater between 2006 and 2010 and then as commissioner at the National Commission for Science, Research & Technology (NCRST) from 2011 until 2015.
According to Linkedin, Von Jeney currently works at the Ministry of Defence as the head of the construction and maintenance directorate, and serves as chairman of the Namibian Standards Institution Impartiality Committee.
It is not the first time the society of engineers has taken issue with Von Jeney, whom they have accused of deliberately barring young professionals from being registered.
“More local engineers, who are mainly those of colour, are being pushed over to register as incorporated engineers (a category lower than professional engineer) or technicians, even though they meet the requirements to be professional engineers,” they said in a statement in March this year.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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