Khaberni - Jordan was a pioneer in the idea of electronic transformation; however, the implementation was delayed for about a decade, and we were surpassed by many Arab countries. It is well known that automation relies on information, and the more entities that participate in it, the more efficient it becomes.
We have struggled in the Jordan Engineers Association for over thirty years to govern procedures by enforcing what is called the minimum engineering fees to raise the level of engineering work, which positively affects both public and private projects directly. However, these procedures have been breached by unscrupulous engineers in collusion with their clients, creating a parasitic class known as "al-khatima," who are ready to stamp plans for mere pennies, whereas the official fees are in dinars per square meter.
Once the state decided to automate all governmental procedures, professional associations followed suit, upgrading their systems and linking them with the Greater Amman Municipality, municipalities, and the Income and Sales Tax Department. However, the latter accepted what the engineering office actually receives and not what the regulations for minimum fees stipulate, thus agreeing to drop below the minimum fee, as if legitimizing the work of "al-khatima."
Despite the strained relationship between the states and labor and professional unions, as they form pressure groups defending their members' rights, we in Jordan have distinguished ourselves by entrusting the regulation of professions to specialized associations, and we legislated for these associations laws that empower them to handle the technical aspect, as is the case with the Engineers Association where the association receives engineering plans from citizens through licensed engineering offices based on well-studied principles. The Technical Department reviews the plans for architectural, structural, electrical, and mechanical specialties, as well as for specialized projects, through the electronic services portal, placing essential remarks on them through repeated assignments until reaching standard plans according to the Jordanian National Building Codes.
The association, through its work, relieves the municipalities of a significant burden, as the files reach them technically reviewed, and all that the municipal staff need to do is perform the regulatory review which mostly concerns setbacks and percentage ratios. The significant work provided by the association to the municipalities is free, and ideally, the association should charge them a technical review fee added to the construction permits, similar to the amounts paid to the Lawyers Association for case registration in courts, which allocate health insurance, cooperation, and retirement stamps for lawyers.
It has become necessary for the Engineers Association to push for the legalization of technical review fees instead of demanding the engineering stamp on building materials, as these are closer to verification since they are actual services provided by the association to the municipalities and the Ministry of Public Works, which should also require that government tender plans be passed through the electronic services portal of the Engineers Association.
This portal, which accompanies the office from the licensing of plans to monitoring partial and full supervision until the completion of execution and obtaining the certificate of compliance, which the municipalities adopt to issue the occupation permit.
I firmly believe that these measures will be the gateway to salvation from "al-khatima," and will provide the association with financial resources enabling it to support health insurance and retirement funds, rather than pursuing the liquidation of the funds and demolishing what the founders built, with flimsy excuses.
Strong unions mean safe buildings, calculated costs, and control of public spending. Leaving the fate of the Engineers Association to the cancellation of its mandatory status will have devastating effects, not only on its members and their families but on the entire governance system in Jordan, which depends on solidarity and task distribution to survive in this turbulent environment we live in.
Dr. Engineer Murad Al-Khalaldeh / Architectural and Urban Design Consultant
