Dear Editor,
I write in reference to your article of Friday February 7, 2014 titled ‘Alarm sounded over lack of professionals for construction sector.’ I would like to point out that while I fully endorse the statements credited to me, Charles Ceres, in the article, those statements did not come from me.
Those statements, which fully express my sentiments, should in fact be credited to Mr Maurice Veecock. I am thankful for your reference to me as “veteran engineer”, however I would like to point out that I was at one time taught by Mr Veecock who should be aptly referred to as Engineer Emeritus. Maurice is a graduate of Technion, Israel and Stanford University, California and has dedicated his entire professional life to teaching and working solely in Guyana, an area in which I am sorely lacking having spent part of my life living and working outside of Guyana.
While I did contribute to the discussions during the conference my contribution was limited to identifying the need to widen the curriculum at the University of Guyana. I advised that the curriculum be altered/updated to provide training for engineers to ensure that the technical needs of projects such as the Aurora Gold Mine and Amaila Falls Hydropower Projects can be met. I made no mention of either the Marriott or Cheddi Jagan Inter-national airport expansion in my comments since I personally consider neither of these projects to warrant engineering expertise above and beyond that currently available in Guyana.
My comments related specifically to the need for a greater emphasis on hydrodynamics as opposed to hydraulics for the management of reservoirs, the need for the introduction of courses in Structural Geology and Engineering Geology to assess rock mass stability, and the introduction of courses in groundwater hydrology to allow for the evaluation of water seepage and losses through dam foundations and for assessment of groundwater flow volumes into open pit mines.
I also identified the need for geological engineers to work on tunnelling projects which are elements of both the Amaila Falls Hydropower and Aurora Gold Mine Projects.
I would be grateful if my request for credit to be given to Maurice Veecock is given the same prominence as that given to me in the aforementioned article.
Yours faithfully,
Charles P Ceres
