The Government will engage engineers in assessing the extent of damage resulting from the enhanced rains, Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS), Kipchumba Murkomen, has said.
The CS says the State will also engage the engineering professionals in establishing climate-resilient infrastructure across the country, as the country puts in place measures to mitigate future adverse effects of climate change.
Speaking in Nyeri at the Engineering Partnership Convention 2024 at the Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, Murkomen noted that the decision was informed by the extensive trail of infrastructure destruction, that continues to be left behind by the deluge.
“We are in a very precarious situation as a country. You have all seen the destruction caused by the enhanced rains. We will be sitting down with the engineering bodies and other infrastructure institutions, to make sure we make a proper assessment of the situation across the country. We call upon you to offer a lasting solution in so far as having climate resilient infrastructure across the country is concerned,” said Murkomen.
The CS who represented Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, as the Chief Guest, also called on the engineers to uphold professionalism while undertaking their duties.
While supporting proposals by the President of the World Federation of Engineers Organisations, Mustapha Shehu, for the establishment of specific tribunals to prosecute engineering professionals who flout the professional code, the CS said that engineers like other professionals, should be held accountable for their projects.
“We would like all of you as engineers to attain the highest standards of professional work. That is why the register of all engineers is very important under the Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK). It is also important to account for every work that is supervised by particular engineers, so that we know if a particular building collapses like the one that collapsed in Kinoo, we need to know who the supervising engineer was and who gave approvals for the building to go up to that level,” he said.
On the issue of regulation of tendering of construction works, Murkomen said that the government had made considerable strides in ensuring that consulting engineers and contractors are sourced locally. He said that the objective is to ensure that the entire sector is led by Kenyan engineers.
“I know we still have some steps to make when it comes to engaging consulting engineers and contractors. We still have situations where even though we have very qualified engineers, a lot of business still goes to engineers from outside the country. We have committed ourselves to change the trend and we have agreed we will work towards achieving total compliance,” said Murkomen.
The four-day program, which is themed ‘Engineering @60: Reflections, Response, resetting’ is scheduled to end this Friday. The forum is aimed at taking stock of the strides made as well as reflecting and celebrating the achievements attained and responding to emerging trends and challenges in the sector. The participants are also seeking to showcase Kenya’s engineering innovations and analyze the milestones in engineering over the past 60 years.
According to the EBK, the Convention will also create a platform for the over 3,000 participants to strategize for the future and set new goals and directions for the engineering field.