The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) is the statutory body for engineering profession in South Africa. Its functions are to accredit the engineering programs and to register the engineering professionals in specified categories throughout the country.[1]
It was established in terms of the Engineering Profession Act 2000 (Act No. 46 of 2000), although its history dates to the South African Council for Professional Engineers (SACPE) in 1969.[2]
The council regulates the practice of engineering, including titles as follows:
The council has been working towards a regulated industry for several years and is going towards implementation by 25 March 2024. The Identification of Engineering Work (IDoEW).[4] The regulation did have several challenges in the past including the Competition Commission.
The regulations have their inceptions back in 2000, section 26(4),[5] which already start limiting the practice to be performed under a registered person. Later editions were made in August 2006 to outline clear prohibitions under section 3.[6] The prohibition was communicated in October 2013, section 5.2, by ECSA.[7] Offences and penalties are outlined in the Engineering Profession Act 2000 (Act No. 46 of 2000) section 41.[5] The implementation process started in March 2021 with a 3 year implementation period; all the engineering practitioners need to be registered by March 2024. There are 11 weeks, 6 days, 3 hours, 6 minutes and 35 seconds until Compulsory registration.. (refresh)
The CEO of the Council for the Built Environment, Dr Msizi Myeza has issued a response also in this regard, "illegal for the non-registered persons to administer and lead infrastructure projects in South Africa".[8] The letter is broad as it goes beyond ECSA and includes all other disciplines within the environment.
Signatories of the following international education agreements have agreed to recognize educational programs that are accredited by ECSA: