By ALICE NACHILEMBE
Minister of Green Economy and Environment Collins Nzovu has challenged engineering professionals in Zambia to come up with home-grown solutions that speak to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature bio-diversity loss and pollution.
Eng. Nzovu has challenged them because engineers are partly responsible for the planetary crisis through their various engineering activities aimed at growing the economy and improving people’s livelihoods.
He said time has come for engineers to transition from the traditional way of exploiting natural resources which has no regard to the environment but sustainable with lower carbon emissions, resource sufficient and socially inclusive.
The Minister was speaking during the Engineering Institution of Zambia (EIZ) 2022 Annual General Meeting, Annual Symposium, 4th Annual Women in Engineering Conference and Youth Engineers’ Forum in Livingstone today.
Eng. Nzovu said all the engineering related problems need engineering based solutions to complement government efforts.
“As the New Dawn government endeavors to green the economy, several interventions that promote sustainable development are being fostered and will require implementation partnerships,” he said.
And Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Urban Development Charles Milupi who was representing President Hakainde Hichilema said the country is currently grappling with various pressing challenges including huge debt which is partly because engineers were designing and certifying sub-standard and overpriced infrastructure projects which were a drain on national resources.
Eng. Milupi said the New Dawn Administration will work towards delivering value for money in its quest to bring development to the Zambian people and any engineer found wanting will face the wrath of the law.
Speaking earlier, EIZ President Engineer Abel Ng’andu has commended the New Dawn government for ensuring that engineering professionals are included at the highest level of governance.
The theme for the AGM was engineering for a changing world, a concept that aims at speaking to the importance of engineering in the modern world.
