Bad sercice and highly *********** staff from The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA)

My experience with ECSA has been nothing short of frustrating and disappointing, showcasing systemic inefficiencies, poor communication, and a lack of professionalism.

I submitted my professional registration application on 14 August 2024, along with instructing my referees to email their reports directly to ECSA on the same day. Despite following all required steps, I recently received communication from one of ECSA's registration officers requesting that I email the reports directly to her. When I explained that the reports had already been sent at the time of my application, her response was dismissive. She further stated that if I did not resend the reports within five days, my application would not be processed in this cycle of submissions. This forced me to chase down my referees again to resend the reports, causing unnecessary stress and wasting my time.

Earlier, around June 2024, I requested an invoice from ECSA so that my company could pay on my behalf (i have evidence). Their response was that ECSA no longer issues invoices to companies, citing a decision by their CFO as the reason. This made the process incredibly inconvenient, as my company enforces professional registration with ECSA and reimburses employees who pay for themselves. To my surprise, ECSA is now issuing invoices to my company, despite refusing to do so for me earlier—whether in my personal capacity or through my company. This inconsistency is deeply unfair and amounts to blatant prejudice.

Compounding these issues is ECSA's overall lack of responsiveness. When I followed up on various queries, I was told that they are overwhelmed with emails and that this is why they are taking so long to respond. However, there isn’t even a ticketing system in place to track queries, leaving applicants in limbo with no assurance that their concerns will be addressed. I wouldn’t mind waiting for two weeks, even though it is frustrating, if there were a system in place that guaranteed my query would be attended to.

To make matters worse, reaching anyone at ECSA is a nightmare. The receptionists claim their sole responsibility is to answer calls and transfer them to the “right person,” but when calls are transferred, they don't go through. Even reaching the reception itself involves excessively long waiting times, and emails frequently go unanswered. Despite having clear evidence of my communication with ECSA, I have been met with nothing but incompetence and unaccountability.

This experience has left me disillusioned with ECSA as a professional body. Their mismanagement, lack of communication, and disregard for applicants’ time and concerns are unacceptable. Immediate action is needed to improve their processes, establish a proper tracking system for queries, and ensure applicants are treated with fairness and respect. Until these changes are made, ECSA risks further eroding the trust and confidence of the professionals it is meant to serve.