The President of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS), Dr JohnAmaglo, has appealed to the government to expedite action on the passage of the Surveying Council Bill to regulate the surveying practice in the country.

The Bill he said when passed into an Act would help eliminate quacks from parading as surveyors.

“The Act would give legal backing to the council to effectively monitor the activities of all registered members towards offering the country and Ghanaians valuable services devoid of deceit as currently confronting the country.

“Every professional body must have rules and regulations governing the conduct of its members to prevent dragging the name of the group into disrepute, non-members must not be allowed to provide technical advice on land and land administration matters,” Dr Amaglo said, adding “ignoring this will always lead to chaos”.

He was speaking yesterday in Accra at the launch of the 17^thGhISweek celebrations.

The week-long celebrations being held jointly with the 53^rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) is on the theme; “Emerging Global Technologies: Implications for the Surveying Practice in Ghana.”

The occasion would not only afford members the opportunity to brainstorm on past years activities towards charting a new way forward, but would also be used to orient and swear in new members, elevate others into the class of Fellows and also elect and swear in newly elected officers.

According to the president, Professional Quantity Surveyors should be the only ones allowed to prepare and monitor all project budgets in the country, especially public projects, because it was the only recognised professional body with a combined membership of over 2,500.

 The nature of the  profession,he explained, made it the first point of call when it comes to post-disaster reconstruction and management as “we come in handy to demarcate the land and undertake compensation, boundary surveys, validation, extent of damage, the cost involved in redevelopment, reconstruction, procurement of works, construction management and the management of the facilities after reconstruction.”

“That is why we are seeking for the quick passage of the Bill to incorporate revolutionary changes that digitalisation has brought in the practice of surveying in Ghana,” he added.

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, new materials, and quantum computingDrAmaglostated, were all set to provide unparalleled opportunities for growth and evolution of the economy, increase in agriculture and food production, digitisation and digitalisation of roads and similar infrastructure.

He called for more support from the government to achieve its goals adding that “all these could be achieved through stringent legislation and the enforcement of laws needed for decisive action and behaviour.”