Divergences on public works professionals certification

2014-3-3

From：Macau Daily Times

Last Friday, lawmakers listened to suggestions regarding the recognition of professionals in sixteen professional groups covering areas such as engineering, architecture and urban planning. However, the groups were divided on the composition of the committee that will verify professional qualifications.
The professionals shared their opinions in the meeting of the 1st Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL). After the meeting, committee president Kwan Tsui Heng said that professional groups are divided on who should make up the members of this committee.
According to Kwan, some groups believe that the majority of the members have to be professionals, while others think they should be mainly government officials. The groups also have different attitudes on whether eligible candidates for recognition must be permanent residents. They were also concerned about whether to set a grading system for the qualification, and whether the appeal mechanism should be dealt with by a committee comprised of professional groups.
Kwan said it would take a long time for the Standing Committee to decide what to ask the government to write into the bill. “Besides professional recognition of engineers, we also hope this will serve as a reference for the recognition of the other professionals. (…) We want to have a thorough discussion and collect more suggestions.”
She also mentioned that the government is concerned about the insurance issue involved in the bill.
The public works departments and the Monetary Authority are currently discussing the matter. Once passed by AL, the bill will be the first law in Macau that sets up professional recognition for these activities.

Copyright@Macau Daily Times