Alienation of the Engineer; Botswana's Other Problem

The first grade-separated interchange in Botswana(pictured) was just completed in Francistown early this year. I had the pleasure of driving there about two months ago and I cannot say much about the project. While a lot of people might view this as a positive and welcome development, most do not share these sentiments. I have not conducted a survey to find out for myself from experts in the field what they feel about the project –at least from a technical standpoint. I also haven’t scratched my head much trying to learn just why a lot of people do not believe this is a positive development. I however have a view of the general perception of the public on engineering issues.

On the surface I believe that the problem that occurs with most of our local engineering projects is the same problem that led to the widespread criticism of this interchange. The gap between the Engineering community and the general populace is too wide, and the same goes for Engineering and other professions like Law and Finance. While Engineers interact with other professionals on a basis that is almost regular, it is my personal belief that not much has been done to establish a useful working relationship between Engineers and such professions. When the word alienation is used one might want to delve into the Karl Max theory of alienation or Emile Durkheim’s theory of anomie. This is however not my intention, maybe we might discuss those on another day.

One may wonder why it matters what the society thinks of its Engineers, this was summed up very well in a book called Engineering in Society penned by the National Research Council in 1985 for the National Academies Press. The book puts forward the idea that the functioning of any society depends largely on the advancements of that particular society in terms of innovation, technology and development in the holistic sense of the word. Engineers are the perpetrators of this advancement through their direct involvement in design and product development. It matters how the society then views the impact of these developments on their everyday lives, whether these have improved or worsened their lives. This view by extension becomes their perception of Engineers and the Engineering profession in general. This is exactly where the “us and them” point of view starts making its way into the issue, especially if the perception becomes negative.

The mystery that is associated with Engineering might have helped in the United States to have Engineers held in high regard by their society, but the same cannot be said for other countries in the world, where many still associate the word Engineer with being a mere mechanic. In some instances the mystery cannot account for the respect the Engineers get, or the lack thereof, but it has in all cases helped in alienating them from the rest of the society. The case of Botswana is becoming a bit too tense as witnessed recently with some Bridges along the Gaborone-Moshupa road. What happens when the society loses trust in its own experts?

In terms of the way forward I was thinking of the use of tools and professions already at our disposal, rather than reinventing the wheel. Journalism is one area that has always proved very useful in informing the society on issues, and I believe that reducing the mystery that surrounds Engineering practice might help the general population understand Engineers better. The forging of a very useful working relationship between Engineering practice and Journalism houses is exactly what Botswana needs. Even if some of our local Engineers could venture into journalism and help report accurately and devise good informative tools for our society in the form of TV shows and magazines. A good standing with the general populace might help bring back the days of the “Yankee Ingenuity” and the “Heroic Engineer”. At least this is what I hope for.

I wish to extend this view with more recommendations in future.