Engr. Abdul Qadir Shah, a candidate for the top slot of the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) has alleged the incumbent chairman Engr. Javed Saleem of damaging the interests of local engineers through exempting Chinese companies from forming joint ventures (JVs) under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Pakistan.
Under the PEC laws, foreign companies are bound to make joint ventures (with 30 percent share to Pakistani companies) in case of projects in Pakistan.
Engr. Shah vowed to reverse such a decision which he called the economic slaughter of local engineers in Pakistan. “We shall not exempt any foreign company in future and ensure that they form JVs with Pakistan and also give 50 percent jobs to Pakistani engineers,” he said in an interview with Engineering Review.
He said it was unfortunate that the PEC chairman took such a damaging decision in connivance with at least 4 senior engineers including engineer Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasiin the previous cabinet.
When asked how such a decision would be reversed, Engineer Shah explained they would frame new laws so that the JVs were ensured while issuing licenses to the foreign companies. “It was a must for absorbing local engineers in Pakistan.”
Engr. Qadir Shah claims to have designed a comprehensive plan to ensure employment of local engineers as according to him as many as 50 thousand engineers are unemployed in Pakistan. “Each and every contractor would be bound to hire engineers and without which they would not be issued licenses.”
Over 50 thousand active contractors are registered with the PEC and it is compulsory for them to hire engineers for each and every project. Many of them violate the rule and buy relevant engineering certificates from engineers to show hiring just in documents. “We shall stop such practice and the PEC would physically monitor the sites to determine whether the engineers are genuinely hired,” Engr. Qadir Shah said.
Abdul Qadir Shah said the new leadership of the PEC would merge contractors into the construction industry and create a proper mechanism for the employment of engineers. Thus, the engineers would have proper jobs, not the sale of engineering degrees, he said.
Engr. Shah who has served as chairman PEC before Engr. Javed Saleem has in his panel Engr. Imtiaz Shah as the candidate for the office of Senior Vice Chairman, Mohammad Shafiq for Vice Chairman Sindh, RanaJabbar for Vice Chairman Punjab, Shahab Khattak for Vice Chairman KPK and Qazi Rasheed Baloch for Vice Chairman Balochistan.
