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 a Member of Parliament 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 the UPI, of which I have been a part since the beginning of the work" - this is how MP Luljeta Bozo begins 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", a newly established NGO on September 16, 2022, as a need to urgently react to the opposition to this draft law, stated in a media conference that: "There is no objective reason for the creation of these Draft Laws, as the profession of Engineer is a regulated profession in the Republic of Albania."
What do the parties say?
Dëshire Mena, an engineer and also the head of the Union of Albanian Engineers, says that engineers were not consulted on this draft law, but they discovered it when 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 author. “ The ministry was shocked by the immediate reaction from the engineers, after within three days we gathered 400 signatures 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, while after some time, the same draft law with some changes was submitted by MP Luljeta Bozo to the assembly offices.
The licensing of engineers is currently carried out by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, but if this bill is approved, it will pass to the Professional Order of Engineers, which is established precisely by this bill. “ 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 the entire activity is controlled.
" They often say that the doctor has it, the dentist has it, but it's not the same. The dentist does not work with tenders, does not manage public money, while the engineer's license manages public money, as it participates in tenders for the construction of roads, railways, mines, any type of economic activity. So, the effect that it has on the intervention that you make through the engineer's license is extraordinary. Why should we leave this in the hands of a group of individuals? Or, is it logical to localize this to a group of people, whoever they are?", she concludes, giving the example of the prime minister, who in our governing system is the head of the government, but still does not have everything under control. " While this group of people is left in their hands, everything is left in their hands," she says.
On the other hand, MP 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 about as a result of several factors", she says. Bozo tells "Sinjalizo" that she is not the drafter of this draft law, she only agreed to present it in Parliament since she enjoys the status of a member of parliament.
"The draft law was drafted by 12 engineering associations and had assistants from the Italian and Dutch orders, who helped draft this draft that was then submitted to parliament. We have been filing it since April 2021," says the MP, who adds that the first hearing was held according to the rules. " Representatives from 5-6 of the 12 associations came," says MP Bozo, while engineer Dëshira denies the existence of a Dutch order. "Only Italy has an order and it was drafted in 1923, during the time of fascism, and despite numerous requests from Italian engineers, it has not been repealed, as it is very difficult to repeal such a law. While the Netherlands does not have such an order, it is an association like any other association that trains professionals in various fields," says Mane, adding that even according to sources from the Tax Directorate, only 2 out of 11 of the engineers' associations enjoy "active" status. The 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.
" First of all, the recent events that happened, especially the earthquake in 2019, showed that specialists who are called engineers, but who are not engineers, have appeared in the labor market. This is very important. There, anyone could build, they had completed a 3-year school and had the courage to do design, or they had not completed school at all, they had completed 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 completed 5-year education will be on the registry. " They have the right to register, but they are not obliged to. Here, engineers are divided into two parts: the group that has received a license from the ministry and the group that has not. There is no difference in the registry, they are all equal and the market makes the difference based on the skills of each one," says Ms. Bozo.
On the other hand, according to MP Bozo, young engineers who have not received their license cannot enter the labor market without being registered in the order register. " It takes 6 months to 2 years to work, to do practice because they have studied theory in school," says the MP, adding that this period serves 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. However, this ministry requests that “ in relation to the area of responsibility of the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, in order to avoid confusion and ambiguities as to who will be subject to this law, we suggest that in the content of the draft law, experts certified according to the relevant legislation for questions (regardless of having the title of engineer) should 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.
MP Bozo tells "Sinjalizo" that the first year of the order's existence requires a subsidy from the Albanian state "until its creation as a genuine organization of the order." According to public data declared in the report, if the draft law of the Professional Order of Engineers is approved by Parliament, the government will have to subsidize the amount of 1,103,320.00 euros.
