ZIMBABWEAN geomatics professionals are set to launch a new professional institute to cater for new technological trends in the sector and developments in the global market. The new institute, to be known as the Zimbabwe Institute of Geomatics (ZIG), will be launched in Harare tomorrow.
By Phyllis Mbanje
According to ZIG interim president Wilson Mhuri, the law currently recognises only land surveyors under the Land Survey Act.
“The geomatics profession is characterised by several disciplines but currently only one of these is regulated by law and that is cadastral which is known as boundary surveying. The geomatics community is in the process of discussing the reservation and regulation of work in the other areas apart from cadastral surveying to also cover all geomatics disciplines for infrastructure development,” he said.
“This is key in order to protect public interests and uphold best practices in data creation standards. Provisionally, in the gap of the bill making process, institutes such as ZIG are willing to engage ministries in monitoring affiliated geomatics professionals at no charge and hold them accountable.”
Other branches of geomatics include engineering survey, geographic information systems, remote sensing, photogrammetry and topographical survey.
Mhuri said the country had seen a lot of substandard work due to the prevalence of unregulated players in the sector.
“A troubling occurrence has been that of poor service delivery on infrastructure and development related projects by unqualified and non-affiliated personnel masquerading as geomatics professionals often disadvantaging the public as seen in land related scams,” he said.
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“Such individuals are difficult to bring to account, costing projects a lot of capital input.
“ZIG will provide real professional stimulus to both the public and members by creating visibility in the built environment through awareness programmes. There has been a serious gap in the market and against this backdrop, it is common practice for clients, including government, that require the services of experts in this field to outsource from other professions or neighbouring countries.”
