New engineers board inaugurated, tasked to restore public confidence
Byamukama noted that the new board assumes office at a time when the public has lost its confidence in the engineering profession.
(L-R) Engineer Cara Tutu Tibaleka, Barbara Namugambe, the acting Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Works and Transport, Works and Transport Minister Fred Byamukama, and Eng. Henry Alinaitwe, the Engineers Registration Board (ERB) chairperson, pose for a photo with ERB committee members shortly after their swearing-in at the Ministry of Works and Transport on September 30, 2026. (Photo by Simon Peter Tumwine)
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Works and Transport Minister Fred Byamukama has today (September 30) inaugurated the 21st Engineer’s Registration Board (ERB) and tasked the new members to restore public confidence.
While addressing the new seven-member ERB board at the Ministry of Works and Transport, Byamukama noted that the new board assumes office at a time when the public has lost its confidence in the engineering profession.
“The public confidence in the engineering profession is low. You, therefore, have a special responsibility to restore the trust, strengthen professionalism and improve the image of the engineers through visible integrity, competence and effective regulation,” Byamukama said.
He noted that as the new board assumes office, he expects the new members to go beyond registration and licensing to become more proactive in preventing professional misconduct before failures occur.
Eng. Henry Alinaitwe, the chairperson of the Engineers Registration Board (ERB), speaks during the inauguration of the 21st ERB at the Ministry of Works and Transport on September 30, 2026. (Photo by Simon Peter Tumwine)
Byamukama pledged to remain committed to integrity and accountability in the delivery of public infrastructure and in the fight against corruption.
“In the course of my work, I have confronted serious concerns, including inflated project costs, delayed compensation, shoddy works, delays in designs, among others,” Byamukama said, adding that where officers are found culpable, action has been taken.
Byamukama appealed to the ERB to pay attention to professionalism within district local governments, noting that they are frontliners of engineering service delivery.
Eng. Henry Alinaitwe, who served as the chairperson for the outgoing board and the incoming 21st board, revealed that Uganda has about 15,000 engineers but only about 3,000 have been registered with the ERB since its inception.
Alinaitwe revealed that they are working hard to satisfy all the different stakeholders, but have to operate under the mandate of the Engineers Registration Act (ERA) Cap 299.
ERA Cap 299 states that ERB is supposed to regulate the engineering profession and oversee the registration of engineers and also advise the Government on engineering-related matters.
“We know our mandate, and we shall pursue it to the best of our abilities,” Alinaitwe said, adding that for Uganda to achieve the National Development Plan IV (NDP IV), engineering should be at the heart.
Alinaitwe noted that all countries that have developed have put engineering first. He revealed that under the 20th ERB tenure, they registered over 400 engineers in the last two years, launched a five-year strategic plan, developed an e-licensing system, and an e-registration system, among other things.
Alinaitwe revealed that during the 20th ERB tenure, they faced funding challenges, understaffing, low numbers of registered engineers, and fraudsters who tarnish the name of engineers, among others.