Engineering technologists urge MPs to pass crucial law, vow to down tools if ignored

Kenya’s engineering technology professionals are seeking lawful recognition through the Kenya Engineering Technology Registration Board (KETRB) – a regulatory body established in 2016 to regulate and standardize the practice of engineering technologists and technicians in the construction sector.

In various petitions presented to relevant state agencies, including the Head of Public Service and the Attorney General’s office, Bibiye Mahmoud, the Vice–Chairperson for Kenya Engineering Technology Education Council (BTEC), representing the Consolidated Voice of Engineering Technology Professionals, said its members will down tools if the pending Engineering Technology Act, No. 23 of 2016, is not implemented and passed into law.

The existence of such a law legally recognizes the profession, but has been intentionally overlooked by the lawmakers for 9 years since it was presented to the Parliament for enactment.

Further, the engineering technologists are decrying KETRAB’s lack of organizational structure and chronic underfunding by the government, factors, they say, have rendered the regulator a toothless watchdog, and are failing to address their dire concerns.

“This law legally recognized our profession and established the Kenya Engineering Technology Registration Board (KETRB) to regulate it. The Supreme Court of Kenya later affirmed that Parliament deliberately created two separate but parallel regulatory frameworks. Yet, nine years later, this Act is being strangled at birth. The most glaring evidence of this sabotage is the deliberate crippling of the KETRB itself,” said Ms Mahmoud while addressing journalists in a matching procession on Parliament Buildings and Harambee Avenues on Monday.

Lack of the critical law, they say, has also subjected them to discriminatory career guidelines, among other issues, including exclusion from major government projects, saying such segregation, combined with the lack of a strong regulator to enforce standards, has created a vacuum in supervision that the National Construction Authority links to building failures, which they believe is a direct and preventable threat to public safety.

“The Public Service Commission (PSC) issued career guidelines that require our qualifications to be approved by our rival board, the Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK), because KETRB has been deliberately weakened and lacks the state-backed authority to act. This is illegal and locks out all Bachelor of Technology graduates,” she offered.

Engineering technology professionals are also known as certified engineering technicians, and include a wide range of specialists in fields like civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering. They are registered and regulated by KETRB to ensure adherence to professional standards.

Their role is considered crucial for supporting national development goals, including infrastructure and industrialization, and they have been pushing for formal recognition and career advancement for nearly a decade.