Usi seeks solutions from engineers
Vice-President Michael Usi on Thursday dared engineers to become solutions to the problems of water, energy, transport infrastructure and others that Malawi is facing.
He said this during the opening of this year’s Malawi Engineering Institution (MEI) Conference at Sunbird Nkopola in Mangochi District themed ‘Evaluating the Engineering Profession-Driving the Attainment of Malawi 2063’.
Usi said the nation faces a myriad of challenges yet it has engineers who are supposed to turn around things.
He said: “As we gather here, we should not look at these challenges as obstacles, but opportunities for engineers to shine and address all these.”
The Veep challenged that engineers need to come up with designs that bring positive impact to the country and save people from danger.
“We must evaluate our engineering profession through the lens of Malawi’s development needs. We need to ask questions like: Are we producing engineers who can design, build and maintain the infrastructure that we need?
“Are we innovating solutions that address our challenges? These are some of the questions we need to ask ourselves as part of taking stock of our contributions,” he said.
The Vice-President also challenged the engineers to play a critical role in the contribution of the country’s economic growth in line with Malawi 2063.
“I thank you for choosing the theme because it speaks to the vision of the national blue-print, Malawi 2063. Therefore, let me also take advantage of the same to encourage you to take part in the contribution,” he said.
In his remarks, MEI immediate past vice-president Engineer Paul Kulemeka while accepting challenges in the profession, said the conference will help the professionals to bang heads on innovative solutions that can help to uplift the country socially and economically.
“As this year marks 20 years since the establishment of the association, we are committed to discussing issues and giving constructive ideas in order to give our infrastructure development what it deserves.
“As an association, we understand challenges that the engineering profession is facing, but we believe that through collaboration we can change the situation,” he said
