12 Mar 2013

The Architecture Association of Botswana (AAB) president has called on government to regulate professional bodies to ensure that they are licensed to operate in the country.

Speaking at the association’s fund raising dinner in Gaborone over the weekend, Mr Vincent Moapare said this would relieve government of the burden of regulating individuals in the architectural Industry without any specific reference to any guiding legal instrument except contractual agreements.

He said the established bodies needed to be resourced to enable them to take off the ground and prevent them from becoming dormant.

On other issues, Mr Moapare said the AAB had embarked upon students membership recruitment drive at the University of Botswana.

He said UB architecture students had not only joined in large numbers, but had started establishment of the Architecture Student Association, a student Chapter of the AAB.

“We hope that this link will bridge the gap between students and practicing professionals in many ways”, he added.

Mr Moapare said at AAB, they recognised the importance of having an international outlook, hence it was necessary to establish permanent links with regional and international counterparts.

The annual dinner, which was preceded by a House Show, was opened to stakeholders and the general public.

The House Show was an open day for stakeholders in the construction industry, architects, quantity surveyors, engineers, real estate agents, property developers, financiers and building products surveyors, amongst others.

The core concept of the House Show was to bring the consumers face to face with the various players of the construction industry, most importantly with the professionals/consultants that one required for the successful execution of building projects.

The House Show was carried out in an exhibition format with stalls to allow each organisation represented to get a chance to discuss intimately the services they offered and the values they added to a building project.  ENDS