Race to replace engineers vice president Grace Kagondu starts

The race to replace the 1st Vice President of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya Grace Kagondu has started in earnest.

Butichi Khamisi,, a consulting engineer who practiced in the country for the last 16 years, on Sunday, launched his bid to be IEK's 1st Vice President.

Kagondu who has held the position since 2022 launched her bid to be the institution’s president on Thursday.

IEK elections are slated for March 21, 2024.

Speaking at a Nairobi hotel when he launched his bid, Hamisi urged all IEK members to exercise their democratic rights by participating in the elections.

“For a long time in the country engineers have been silent on many issues. For me I thought it was important to offer myself for the position so that we can implement the changes we have been yearning for,” he said.

He said there has been a lot of mess in the construction industry and the first people to be blamed have been engineers.

“We want to bring reforms that are required. Engineers Board of Kenya is the regulator but we want to give them more ideas to improve the industry,” he said.

He said many construction projects are manned by people who are not certified engineers.

“Structures are being manned by people who purport to be engineers. We want to work with national and county government to reverse this trend,” he added.

Khamisi, further pointed out that there is an upsurge of foreign engineers in the country.

“There is an upsurge of foreign engineers. This does not mean we lack engineers in our country,” he explained.

“They come from abroad to supervise our projects. How on earth should someone come from Europe to be a resident engineer?”

He added that contracts for infrastructural projects should crafted in ways that accommodate local engineers.

“Foreign engineers should come in as managers,” he added.

Speaking during her launch, Kagondu said she is committed to promoting an environment where innovation flourishes and implementing transformational initiatives leave an enduring impact on the engineering fraternity and society as a whole.

"My candidature is based on three pillars; innovation, transformation, and impact. I plan to leverage youthful members of IEK to make an impact," Kagondu said.