Question NW2752 to the Minister of Transport

Reply:

DEPARTMENT

(a) and (b) (i). Reflect the toatal numberof engineers in the Department of Transport irrespective of them not having been e,mployed as engineers. e.g. DDG Hlabisa of Road sis an engineer and soi s many others. All Government Departments that appoint Engineers are guided by the Occupational Specific Dispensation (OSD) for Engineers that specifies the criteria as well as qualifications that are required for the various categories of Engineers.

1. Road Accident Fund (RAF)

The Road Accident Fund (RAF) does not currently employ engineers in that capacity, nor does the RAF accredit anyone in that capacity.

2. South African National Road Agency (SANRAL)

(a) SANRAL uses the criteria as per the requirements of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) including those bodies who are signatories to the Washington Accord of 1989.

Registration as a professional engineer with ECSA is a statutory requirement for roles which take responsibility for the performance of engineering work. On meeting the criteria the following designations are used as per the ECSA regulations:

Professional Engineer (Pr Eng)

Professional Engineering Technologist (Pr Tech Eng)

Professional Engineering Technician (Pr Eng Techni)

(b) The basic qualifications required to attain the above are a Bachelor of Science in Engineering; Bachelor of Engineering; Bachelor of Technology; and Diploma in Engineering from a University or the then technikons.

3. Road Traffic Management Cooperation (RTMC)

(a) Currently RTMC does not have an engineer in its employ. The candidate should be registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) , and

(b) Possess a B Degree in Civil Engineering or Equivalent qualification if the agency were to employ one.

4. Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA)

(a) For RTIA, the criteria for employing the Engineers would be based on the requirements of the position.

(b) The qualifications required would also be based on the needs of the position as well as those of the Agency

5. Cross-Border Road Transport Agency (C-BRTA)

(a) The incumbent will have to be registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA).

(b) Qualifications to qualify a person to be called an engineer: Bachelor of Engineering degree or Bachelor of Technology with a focus on Civil/ Transport/ Structural Engineering.

Air Traffic & Navigation Services SOC Limited (ATNS)

(a) Criteria

ATNS employs two types of engineers, namely, Systems Engineer and Senior Systems Engineer. A Systems Engineer is a person who holds a Bachelor’s degree or Bachelor of Technology in Engineering or Science from the university and is eligible for registration as a professional engineer.

The second level of engineer is the Senior Systems Engineer level where professional engineers are appointed. A professional engineer is a person who holds Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and is registered as a professional engineer with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA).

The criteria used for the appointment of engineers, is the academic qualification, years of experience and professional registration with the Engineering Council of South Africa as a candidate or professional engineer or technologist.

(b) Qualifications

The qualifications used for engineer positions in the company are Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from the university (including university of technology).

Airports Company South Africa SOC Limited (ACSA)

(a) Criteria

The Airports Company South Africa defines the need for specific positions based on the nature of the business. Formal structures exist which includes Engineers. The positions in the different Engineering disciplines are clearly defined in terms of a role description detailing:

• key outputs,
• qualifications; and
• competence needed in the position.

(b) Qualifications

People appointed to positions of Engineers in the different disciplines, are required to have a formal B Tech or Engineering degree and/or with a Government Certificate of Competency, depending on the business need.

Further to this, qualifications are verified via a formal verification process with the institutions that issued the qualifications prior to making an appointment into an Engineering position.

South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA)

(a)(b)(i)N/A (ii) the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s criteria and qualification requirements for engineers are as follows:

Engineering Stream within the SACAA	Job Title	Qualifications and Criteria
Mechanical Engineering	Certification Engineer	Qualifications: BSc degree in Mechanical Engineering Criteria: 3 year experience as Certification Engineer in the aviation environment.
Electrical Engineering	Certification Engineer	Qualification: BSc degree in Electrical Engineering Criteria: 3 year experience as Certification Engineer in the aviation environment.
Aeronautical Engineering	Certification Engineer	Qualification: BSc degree in Aeronautical Engineering Criteria: 3 year experience as Certification Engineer in the aviation environment.

Railway Safety Regulator

(a) Criteria – Minimum National Diploma/ Degree

(b) A bachelor degree in engineering and a candidate for registration as a professional engineer or technologist with ECSA.

Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA)

(a) As employee must have obtained a four year university engineering degree to be an engineer.

(b) The qualification for an engineer is a B.Sc (Engineering), B.Eng or any 4 year degree from a recognized university.

Ports Regulator South Africa (PRSA)

The Ports Regulator in terms of its organogram, does not employ engineers, thus this is not applicable.

While it is not applicable to the Ports Regulator, the CEO of the Ports Regulator is an engineer by virtue of being:

(a) accredited as a professional engineer (Pr Eng) by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA)

(b) qualified with a university degree in engineering, in his case a masters degree (MSc Eng)

South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA)

(a) The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), as a special agency of the Department of Transport on matters relating to Maritime employs Marine Engineers. Marine engineering is a specialist field which is regulated internationally by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and here in South Africa, those standards are implemented and monitored by SAMSA.

(b) We hire Marine Engineers who holds Certificates of Competency as Chief Engineer[1] of a ship of any propulsion power in accordance with standards set by the IMO, through the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (STCW Convention). These Marine Engineers qualifications are vetted and accepted by the IMO and its member states, e.g. UK, Netherlands, Singapore, Liberia, Philippines, etc. There is no requirement for Marine Engineers to be a member of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) to be employed. However, some of them are members through their membership of the South African Institute of Marine Engineers and Naval Architects (SAIMENA)