Engineers' lobby asks State to pay pending bills

IEK President Shammah Kiteme. [File, Standard]

The Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) has called on the government to address the issue of pending bills.

Addressing the media in Nairobi, IEK President Shammah Kiteme noted that the matter, if addressed, has the potential to bring immediate relief to many businesses.

"We have some of our members who have gone for months without salaries because of pending bills. Others have lost jobs, and many engineering firms have downsized or closed shops. If we address this pending bills issue, we believe that it will open up opportunities for many jobless young people," said Kiteme.

Kiteme said the failure of the government to pay pending bills has stalled projects - resulting in young engineers and citizens going unpaid for months.

He said paying off the pending bills will also solve the protests in the country which he noted are fueled by the current economic state.

IEK leadership said industrialisation of the country will boost the economy - creating jobs and stimulating growth in other sectors.

"We believe our economic strategy should focus on industrialisation, which has globally proven effective in transforming the economy of any country. It's our view that industrialisation will sustainably generate enough output to meet both domestic and export demands, while rapidly increasing per capita incomes and improving the living standards of Kenyans," said Kiteme.

He said they are closely working with the Engineers Board of Kenya, counties and other key stakeholders to weed out quacks in the sector.

The engineers' boss said quacks are the main reason why the country experiences issues like collapsed buildings and poor infrastructure.

"We are sensitising our engineers, counties and approving authorities, so that we have bona fide involvement of engineers, and we weed out quacks who run around with engineers' licenses," said Kiteme.

IEK First Vice President Harrison Keter urged President William Ruto to consider professionalism as he reconstitutes a new cabinet.

"As the president goes about setting up a government of national unity, we want to opinion that it should not be a government of unity of politicians from different regions. Those are two different things. We want unity of Kenyans, and want specifically to emphasize professionalism," said Keter.