A Story by Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya PresidentGood afternoon.

Story by Ayubu John Afrimedia Group news.My name is QS Mutinda Mutuku, President of the Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya. Let me tell you a story—not just my story, but a story about our country.

It is the story of a nation at a crossroads.

A nation that has, for years, asked itself the same question: Where are we going?

This story did not begin today. It began many years ago—back in 2007—when the first attempt was made to bring order, structure, and accountability into our built environment. It resurfaced again in 2010. Then again between 2015 and 2017.

Each time, the effort was made. Each time, it fell short.

And today, we find ourselves here again—on the fourth attempt.

So I ask you: Were those who came before us wrong?

Or is it that we, as a generation, have hesitated when courage was required?

Let me take you on a short journey.

This morning, I drove through Nairobi. From Brookside Drive, through Westlands, past towering cranes and rising buildings. Everywhere I looked, I saw ambition. I saw investment. I saw billions of shillings being poured into shaping our skyline.

But beneath that progress, I also saw something troubling.

I saw a system under strain.

Because hidden among these great projects are individuals who have not earned the right to be there—individuals without proper qualifications, yet entrusted with projects worth billions. I call them “certificate merchants.”

And when buildings crack… when structures fail… when lives are put at risk—who is blamed?

The profession.

The trained architect.

The qualified engineer.

The certified quantity surveyor.

Yet many of them did everything right.

This is the contradiction we must confront.

This is why this story matters.

Because if we get it right—if we pass the right laws and enforce them properly—we will not only protect lives, we will unlock opportunity.

Imagine a system where professionalism is upheld.

Where one project worth 2 billion shillings does not just build a structure—but builds livelihoods. Where architects employ other architects. Engineers employ young graduates. Quantity surveyors mentor the next generation.

A single project becoming a chain of opportunity.

That is the Kenya we can build.

But if we get it wrong—if we allow weak regulation and poor enforcement to persist—we will continue to lose not just money, but trust… and even lives.

We do not have to look far for examples.

Countries like Rwanda and Tanzania have taken bold steps. They are not perfect, but they have moved ahead in enforcing standards and reducing failures in their built environment.

So again, I ask: Where are we?

This proposal before us is not rushed. It has been studied. Experts—including legal professionals—have examined global best practices and tailored them to our context.

This is not about individuals.

This is not about personal interests.

This is about the profession.

This is about livelihoods.

This is about the future of young men and women whose only asset is the certificate they earned through years of sacrifice.

We owe them more than promises.

We owe them a system that works.

So let us not reduce this moment to fear of change or resistance to progress. Let us rise above that.

Let us build a framework that ensures fairness, accountability, and professionalism.

Because in the end, this story is not just about laws.

It is about people.

It is about dignity.

It is about the future of our society.

And the question is—how will this chapter be written?

Thank you.