THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

ENGINEERS REGISTRATION
BOARD

CODE OF CONDUCT
AND
ETHICS FOR ENGINEERS

Dar es Salaam August, 2013

 CODE OF ETHICS FOR ENGINEERS

1.0 Preamble

The Engineers Registration Board is a statutory body established

by Act of Parliament, No. 15 of 1997 and has been given the
responsibility for regulating engineering practice in Tanzania
through registration of engineers and engineering consulting firms
and monitoring of their engineering activities and conduct. Under
the Act, it is illegal to practise engineering if one is not registered
with the Board. The Board has also been given legal powers and
has the obligation to withdraw the right to practise from registered
engineers if found guilty of professional misconduct or
professional incompetence.

Engineering is among the noble professions that have the

privilege and responsibility of self regulation. To this end, the
Board has worked out a Code of Ethics which aims at regulating
the engineering activities and conduct of engineers and
engineering consulting firms. The Code thus forms the basis and
framework for responsible professional practice as it prescribes
standards of conduct to be observed by engineers and
engineering consulting firms. The Code is based on broad tenets
of truth, honesty and trustworthiness, respect for human life and
welfare, fairness, openness, competence and accountability;
engineering excellence, protection of the environment and
sustainable development.

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 ENGINEERS REGISTRATION ACT
(CAPT. 63)
FIRST SCHEDULE
GN No. 35 of January 29, 2010
(Made under Regulation 49)
CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICS FOR ENGINEERS
Citation 1. This Code may be cited as the Engineers
Registration (Conduct and Ethics) Code.

Application 2. This code of Conduct and Ethics shall apply to all

engineers and engineering technicians.

The 3. An Engineer shall endeavor to uphold and advance

fundamental the integrity, honor and dignity of the engineering
principles profession by:-
(a) being honest and impartial, and shall serve with
fidelity the public, his employers and clients;
(b) striving to enhance the competence and
prestige of the engineering profession; and
(c) supporting the professional and technical
societies of his disciplines.

The 4. An engineer shall:-

fundamental (a) uphold paramount the safety, health and
canons or welfare of the public and the protection of the
rules environment in the performance of his
professional duties;
(b) perform engineering works and services only in
the areas of his competence;
(c) issue public statements only in an objective and
truthful manner;
(d) act in a professional manner for each employer
or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall
endeavor to avoid conflicts of interest;
(e) build his professional reputation on the merit of
the services and shall not compete unfairly with
others;
(f) continue his professional development
throughout his career and shall assist and
provide opportunities for the professional
advancement of an engineer or engineers under
his supervision.
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Obligations 5. (1) Every engineer shall, at all times, recognize that
to society his primary obligation is to protect the safety,
health, property and welfare of the public and in
the event that his professional judgment is
overruled under circumstances where the safety,
health property or welfare of the public are
endangered, he shall immediately notify, in
writing, his employer or client, the Board and
such other authorities as may be appropriate and
shall elaborate all engineering solutions which
have been used but have failed to overcome the
problem.
(2) Every engineer shall approve engineering
documents which are in conformity with
appropriate standards.
(3) No engineer shall permit the use of his name or
firm name nor his associate in business venture
with any person or firm which he has reason to
believe that he is involved in fraudulent or
dishonest business or professional practices.
(4) Every engineer shall be objective and truthful in
making or presenting professional reports,
statements or testimonies.
(5) Every engineer shall express his professional
opinion on technical subjects only when that
opinion is founded upon competence in the
subject matter.
(6) Every engineer shall take all reasonable steps to
avoid waste of natural resources, damage to the
environment and wasteful damage or destruction
of the products of human skill.

Obligations 6. (1)Every engineer shall disclose all known or

to employer potential conflicts of interest to his employer or
or Client client which may influence or appear to influence
his judgment or the quality of his services.

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(2) An engineer shall not accept compensation,
financial or otherwise from more than one party
for services on the same project, or for services
pertaining to the same project, unless the
circumstances are fully disclosed to and
agreed for, by all interested parties.
(3) No engineer shall solicit or accept financial or
other valuable consideration, directly or indirectly
from contractors, his agents or other parties in
connection with work for employers or clients for
which he is responsible.
(4) Except as authorized or required by law, no
engineer shall reveal facts, data or information
obtained in his professional capacity without the
prior consent of the client or employer.
(5) An engineer in public service as a member,
advisor or employee of a governmental body or
department shall not participate in decisions with
respect to professional services if he is an
interested party.
(6) Every engineer shall avoid improper solicitation of
professional employment and shall, in the
circumstances:
(a) not falsify or permit misrepresentation of
himself, his associates, academic or
professional qualifications, or exaggerate his
degree of responsibility and capability;
(b) not offer, give, solicit or receive, either directly
or indirectly, any financial and/or material
consideration of any amount intended to
influence the award of a contract.
(7) A practicing engineer shall endeavor to
understand and take all reasonable steps to
inform his clients and employers of societal and
environmental consequences of actions or
projects in which he is involved and to interpret
issues to the public in an objective and truthful
manner.

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Integrity of 7. (1) An engineer shall be guided in all his professional
an undertakings by the highest standards of integrity
engineer and:
(a) shall admit and accept his own errors when
proven wrong and refrain from distorting or
altering the facts in an attempt to justify his
decisions;
(b) shall not accept secondary employment to the
detriment of his regular work or interest;
(2) An engineer shall at all times strive to serve the
interest of the public and shall in the process:-
(a) seek opportunities to be of constructive service
in civic affairs and work for the advancement of
the safety, health and well being of the public;
(b) endeavor to extend public knowledge and its
achievements and to protect the engineering
profession from misrepresentation and
misunderstanding.
Every engineer shall avoid actions or practices
which are likely to discredit the engineering
profession or deceive the public.

Disclosure 8. No engineer shall disclose classified information

of classified concerning the business affairs or technical processes
information of any present or former client or employer without his
consent.

Conflicting 9. No engineer shall be influenced in his professional

interest duties by his political lenience, involvement or
conflicting interests and shall not accept
financial or other considerations, including free
engineering designs from material or equipment
suppliers for specifying their product;
not accept commissions or allowances, directly or
indirectly from contractors or other parties dealing with
clients or employers of the engineer in connection with
the work for which the engineer is responsible;
not accept commissions or allowances, directly or
indirectly from contractors or other parties dealing with
clients or employers of the engineer in connection with
the work for which the engineer is responsible;
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Composition 10. An engineer shall uphold the principle of appropriate
improper and adequate compensation for those engaged in
engineering work.

Unfair 11. No engineer shall compete unfairly with another

means engineer by attempting to obtain employment or
professional engagements by taking advantage of a
position, or by criticizing another engineer or by other
improper or unfair means.

12. No engineer shall request, propose, or accept a

professional commission under circumstances in
which his professional judgment may be
compromised.

Engineering 13 No engineer shall maliciously or falsely attempt to

Practice injure directly or indirectly, the professional
reputation, prospects, practice or employment of
another engineer, nor indiscriminately criticize other
engineer’s work and in the event that an engineer
believes that another engineer is guilty of unethical
or illegal practice, shall present such information to
the proper authority for action.

Engineering 14. (1) An engineer-

Practice (a) in private practice shall not review the work
of another engineer for the same client,
except with the knowledge of such other
engineer, or unless the connection of such
engineer with the work has been
terminated;
(b) in government, industrial, public or
educational employment is entitled to
review and evaluate the work of other
engineers when so required by his
employment duties;

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 (c) in sales or industrial employment is entitled
to make engineering comparisons of
represented products with products of other
suppliers;
(d) shall not copy or steal other engineers’
documents or work for his personal gain;
(2) Every engineer shall accept personal
responsibility for every professional activity
under his charge and-
(a) shall conform with state registration laws in
the practice of engineering;
(b) shall not associate with a non-engineer, a
corporation, or partnership, as a “cloak” for
unethical acts, and if he does, he will take
personal responsibility for his professional
actions.

Recognition 15. (1) Every engineer shall give credit for engineering
of the work of those to whom credit is due, and
proprietary recognize the proprietary interests of others.
interests
(2) Every engineer using designs supplied by a
client shall recognize that the designs remain
the property of the client which shall not be
duplicated by the engineer for others without
express permission of the client.

Cooperation 16. (1) Every engineer shall cooperate in extending the

development effectiveness of the profession by interchanging
and information and experience with other engineers
advancemen and students, and will endeavor to provide
t of
engineers
opportunity for the professional development
and advancement of engineers under his
supervision and in that case he shall:-
(a) encourage engineering employees’ efforts to
improve their educations;
(b) encourage engineering employees to attend
and make presentations at professional and
technical society meetings;

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 (c) encourage engineering employees to
become registered at the earliest possible
date.
(d) take part/responsibility in training/
supervising young engineers
(2) Every engineer shall take all reasonable steps
to maintain and develop his professional
competence by acquainting himself to new
developments in science and engineering
relevant to his field of activities and shall
provide opportunities for the professional
development of his subordinates.

Overruling of 17. An engineer whose professional advice is not

professional accepted shall take all reasonable steps to ensure
advice
that persons overruling or neglecting his advice
are aware of the dangers the engineer believes
may result from such overruling or neglect.

Advertise or 18. No engineer shall in self-laudatory language or in

writing of any manner derogatory to the dignity of the
articles for
publication
engineering profession, advertise or write articles
for publication.

Breach of 19. No Engineer shall assist, induce or be involved in

Code of the breach of this Code of conduct and ethics but
Conduct
shall do all necessary endeavors to support those
who seek to uphold it and report immediately any
unethical engineering decisions or practices by
engineers and others to the Board.

Penalties 20. An engineer failing to observe any provisions in

this Code shall commit an offence under the Act
and shall be liable to penalties as prescribed by
the Board.

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 Registrar
Engineers Registration Board
P.O. Box 14942
DAR ES SALAAM
Tel: +255 22 2122836/ Fax: +255 22 2115373
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.erb.go.tz