Dear Editor,
Distinctly absent from the dialogue on the Marriott Hotel project and others like it are the benefits and roles of the Guyanese professional engineers/architects and other artisans.
Editor, as in most countries the practice of law and medicine is regulated in Guyana. However, Guyana is one of a few countries where the practice of professional engineering/architecture is not regulated. This omission allows non-professional engineers/architects to make professional engineering/architectural decisions and encourages sub-standard project design and implementation, with the open knowledge that the offending parties will easily escape regulatory discipline. Cases in point are the Supenaam stelling, the Charity wharf, and the breach of the tailings pond dam at Omai. Additionally, on projects where local professionals and artisans are not involved, Guyana and Guyanese will not derive the institutional knowledge from these, especially during the construction phase. This institutional knowledge aids tremendously in the project facility’s management, maintenance, upgrade, and operation.
I am a former Secretary of the Guyana Association of Professional Engineers (GAPE) and am aware of the efforts by GAPE to persuade the government in the 1970s to introduce legislation in the field of professional engineering. For myriad reasons these efforts did not bear fruit. Major projects such as multi-storey buildings and international construction projects upon which Guyana plans to embark now, more than ever, warrant such legislation to bring order to our professional engineering/architectural development.
Yours faithfully,
Abraham David
