Author: Dallandyshe XHAFERRI and Denis TAHIRI
"The presentation of this Draft Law does not come as a spontaneous desire born after receiving the status of Deputy in the Assembly of the Republic of Albania. This presentation is the final moment of the efforts started in 2017 by the Initiative Group for the creation of UPI, of which I have been a part since the beginning of the work"- This is how MP Luljeta Bozo starts the explanatory report "On the Professional Order of Engineers".
The object of this law is the creation and determination of rules for the way of organization and operation of the Professional Order of Engineers in the Republic of Albania. If this draft law is voted in the assembly, every person with Albanian citizenship, without citizenship or with foreign citizenship, who wants to practice the profession of engineer in the Republic of Albania will have to be registered in the "Register of Professional Engineers". According to this draft law, only those professionals who are registered have the right to sign as an engineer, and the register becomes the only source of reference for third parties seeking engineering Services or expertise and other tasks related to the scope of the engineer's profession. .
On the other hand, the "Union of Albanian Engineers", an NGO newly created on September 16, 2022, as a need to respond urgently to the opposition to this draft law, stated in a press conference that: "There are no objective reasons for the creation of these Bills, as the profession of Engineer is a regulated profession in the Republic of Albania".
What do the parties say?
Dëshire Mena, an engineer and at the same time head of the Union of Albanian Engineers, says that the engineers were not consulted about this draft law, but they discovered it when the draft of the draft law was published on the official website of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, where the proposal did not bear the name of any the author. "The ministry from the immediate reaction it had from the engineers, since within three days we gathered 400 firms of engineers and took it to the ministry telling them that we are the engineers and asked them to stop this procedure". she says, adding that the ministry stopped this procedure, meanwhile, after some time, the same draft law with some changes was submitted by the deputy Luljeta Bozo, to the offices of the assembly.
Licensing of engineers is currently done by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, but if this draft law is approved, it will pass the competence to the Professional Order of Engineers, which is established precisely by this draft law. "At this moment you understand that a move has been made to centralize and focus this process, which is licensing in the hands of a small group of people". says engineer Mena, adding that in this way all activity is controlled.
"They often say that the doctor also has it, the dentist also has it, but it is not the same. The dentist does not work with tenders, he does not manage public money, while the engineer's license manages public money, as he participates in tenders for the construction of roads, railways, mines, any kind of economic activity. So, the effect it has on the intervention you make through the engineer's license is extraordinary. Why should we leave this to a group of individuals? Or, does it make sense to localize this to a group of people, whoever they are?", she concludes, giving the example of the prime minister, who in our government system is the head of the government, but still does not have everything under control. "As for this group of people, everything is left in their hands", she says.
On the other hand, deputy Luljeta Bozo, who is also the proposer of this draft law, says that this professional order is based on the law. "The law exists but we are applying it in our field, it is not that we are issuing a new law and this has come as a result of several factors". she says. Bozo says to "Sinjalizo" that she is not the drafter of this draft law, she only agreed to present it in Parliament as she enjoys the status of a member of parliament.
"The draft law was drafted by 12 engineering associations and there were assistants from the Italian and Dutch orders, who helped in the drafting of this draft that was then taken to the parliament. We have already filed it in April 2021", says the deputy, who adds that according to the rules, the first hearing was held. "Representatives from 5-6 of 12 associations came", says deputy Bozo, while engineer Dêshira denies the existence of a Dutch order. "Only Italy has the order and it was drawn up in 1923, at the time of fascism, and despite the many requests of Italian engineers, it could not be undone, as it is very difficult to remove such a law. While Holland does not have such an order, it is an association like any other association that trains professionals in different fields,"-says Mane, adding that even according to sources from the Tax Directorate, only 2 out of 11 of the engineers' associations enjoy the "active" status. Others appear "passive" or are not registered anywhere.
In the interview given to "Sinjalizo", deputy Bozo also lists the factors that led to this draft law according to her.
"For the first time, the recent events that happened, especially the earthquake event in 2019, showed that specialists who are called engineers, but who are not engineers, have appeared in the labor market. This is very important. Anyone could build there, they had gone to a 3-year school and had the courage to do design, or they hadn't gone to school at all, they had gone to a 2-year school," she says.
According to the proponent of this bill, this order lets the public know that engineers who are part of the registry are safe. Only those who have finished 5-year education will be in the register. "They have the right to register, but are not obliged. Here the engineers are divided into two parts: the group that received licenses from the ministry and the group that did not. There is no difference in the registers, they are all equal and the market makes the difference based on everyone's abilities". says Mrs. Bozo.
On the other hand, according to deputy Bozo, young engineers, who have not received the license, cannot enter the labor market without appearing in the order register. "It takes 6 months to 2 years to work, to do practice, because he did theory at school", says the deputy, adding that this period serves her to enter the market and to understand.
The line institutions identify the problems
For the approval of such a draft law, it is necessary that all institutions of the line give their agreement for its non-contradiction with the field of their activity as well as the laws in force. And they have all given their consent to this law, even though there are those who seek not to be subject to the law.
The Ministry of Tourism and Environment, in a letter signed by Minister Mirela Kumbaro Furxhi, agrees in principle with the proposed initiative. But this ministry requires that "in relation to the area of responsibility of the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, in order to avoid confusion and ambiguity about who will be the subject of this law, we suggest that in the content of the draft law, experts certified according to the relevant legislation for the questions (despite the fact that they are with the title of engineer) shall not be subject to this law".
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice, in a letter signed by the Minister of Justice, Ulsi Manja, identifies 18 problems with this law, suggesting the restructuring of this draft law.
While the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy states that this draft law brings as a consequence the change of the current legal basis for this field and as such the provision of a transitional provision is necessary so that the new draft law is not only effective but also minimizes the effects negative that there may be transitional periods for each actor involved.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance and Economy lists the problems that appear in the draft of the draft law, in giving its opinion, it states that it considers it necessary to redraft the draft law and bring it back to the Ministry of Finance and Economy for consideration.
Deputy Bozo says for "Sinjalizo" that the first year of the order's existence requires a subsidy from the Albanian state "until its creation as a real organism of the order". According to the public data stated in the report, if the draft law of the Professional Order of Engineers is approved by the Parliament, the government will have to subsidize the amount of 1,103,320.00 euros.
