01 Sep 2020

The ACEN News Circular for September 2020 highlights updates on council elections, administrative matters, and initiatives aimed at supporting members and enhancing the consulting engineering industry in Namibia.

1. General and Membership Updates:

   • Inge Duvenhage was welcomed as a newly elected ACEN Council member during the AGM.
   • Office hours remain 8:00–13:00, Monday to Friday.

2. Engineering Council of Namibia (ECN):

   • ACEN continues to address critical issues, including requests for an hourly tariff increase and updates to the disbursement schedule, which are pending approval from the Ministry of Works and Transport.
   • Discussions on registering consulting engineering companies under the Engineering Act are ongoing, with recommendations submitted to the Minister.

3. Procurement Act – Industry Sub-Committee (ISC):
   The ISC has resumed regular meetings following COVID-19 disruptions to address terms of reference standardization and tender-related issues.

4. Contractual Documentation – PROCSA:

   • ACEN recommends using the PROCSA Suite of Documents in combination with the revised Annexure C Fee Scale Model.
   • Webinar recordings on PROCSA documents are available on a Pay-As-You-Go basis.
   • Updates to the Annexure C Fee Scale Model will occur annually in October, with suggestions for amendments due by the end of September.

5. Standardized Fee Claim Template:
   A new Fee Claim Template is being developed to ensure consistency across the industry.

6. FIDIC Africa:
   ACEN is evaluating membership with FIDIC Africa to explore potential collaboration and opportunities within the regional engineering sector.

7. Internship Incentive Program:

   • Member firms hosting interns can claim a percentage of professional staff costs as reimbursement.
   • Firms must submit detailed internship reports to qualify for the incentive, which will be reimbursed at the end of the book year.

8. Membership Fees and New Members:

   • Membership fees for the 2020/2021 book year have been fully paid.
   • Three new membership applications were approved, and the updated membership list was distributed.

9. Website and Social Media Engagement:

   • The ACEN website is regularly updated and running smoothly.
   • ACEN launched a Facebook page to share engineering-related updates and promote member firms.

10. ACEN AGM:
    The AGM took place on July 16, 2020, with a quorum present. Meeting minutes were distributed to members on July 27, 2020.

11. Workshops and Projects:
    Derrick Langford attended a virtual workshop presented by the Central Procurement Board of Namibia on Standard Bidding Documents for Works.

Description:

The September 2020 newsletter emphasizes ACEN’s focus on standardizing practices, fostering professional development through internship incentives, and addressing procurement-related challenges. It reflects the organization’s commitment to enhancing collaboration, supporting members, and advancing the consulting engineering profession in Namibia.