He said that this year’s engineering conference comes at time when African cities are rapidly growing and generating big volumes of waste, a challenge which he said needs strong measures for adequate and sustainable development in the critical sector of human existence and well-being.
“Science and technology have always been some of the strongest pillars of prosperity and development, no country has ever moved from developing to developed status without adequate engineers,” he said.
“We believe that one of Africa’s most important resource is the skills of its people. A well trained labour force is the single most important enabler of economic transformation for African countries,” he added.
He said that the investment in quality education is required to develop schemes and explore solutions to engineering challenges of the continent.
Using an example of Rwanda, Ngirente said that the country has established special educational institutions that train scientists, engineers and specialists.
“This conference is an opportunity to remind our engineers of their role in promoting innovative engineering services. Our call to you is to uphold professionalism, build and consolidate true values and ethics expected from engineering profession,” he urged engineers.
“Come up with answers to what African engineering fraternity should do to create confidence and trust within systems of African governments” he added.
Ngirente also encouraged engineers to take concrete measures in dealing with colleagues who do not respect ethics and professionalism.
The president of Institute if Engineers in Rwanda Eng. Papias Dedeki Kazawadi said that participants will discuss best waste management practices.
“Based on skills and experiences from different individuals, we believe that Rwandans will also benefit from them as long as they acquire waste management techniques practices that have brought some impact in other countries,” he said.
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