Quantity surveyors encouraged to offer quality services
Baboki Kayawe | Thursday May 28, 2015 15:49
IBQSC held a dinner dance recently to introduce the newly established Quantity Surveyors Registration Council (QSRC) to the quantity surveying community and the Botswana construction industry in general.
Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology Dikagiso Mokotedi, said at the event that the entire construction industry needs strict regulation to ensure it gives the public good quality service, and to serve as an integrity mechanism.
“Achievement of educational qualification alone is not sufficient to enable oneself to be regarded a professional. Demonstration and adherence to ethical standards and set rules are a prerequisite to enter any professional body,” said Mokotedi.
He encouraged the professionals and the public to familiarise themselves with the Act, saying it is critical that as they register, they are clear on the qualifications and procedures for the process. Once registered, he said, members of the Council are expected to conduct themselves with the highest integrity and offer unbiased advice, which could be relied upon at all times.
He stressed, “this industry is infested with all kinds of people who claim to be qualified; hence registration is critical to ensure that the industry offers quality.”
Chairperson of QSRC, Gontse Kgosiemang said the Council is critical of the construction industry because it plays a very important role of advising the industry on financial, procurement and contractual matters.
However, to date the services they provide are based on individual knowledge primarily designed by clients’ requirements without a body of knowledge locally led by experts.
“As a result, there is no support of the academia, no standardisation, quality performance as well as ethics,” he said.
The registration process is billed to commence soon, after a registrar has been employed. IBQSC is a voluntary organisation with over 120 registered members.
Its objectives are to promote the advancement of and to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge in the profession of Quantity Surveying. The organisation also regulates the profession in the public interest, seeking to obtain and subsequently maintaining a register of practitioners in Botswana and to maintain good relations with other professional bodies in Botswana and with similar professional bodies in other countries, among others.
Meanwhile, plans are underway for an overarching industry regulation body to be called Botswana Construction Authority, according to Mokotedi.
This would register companies, not individuals and it is expected to bring architects, engineers, and quantity surveyors under one roof to address challenges in the construction sector.