Newly installed Institution of Engineers of Kenya President Harrison Keter. [David Gichuru, Standard]
The Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) has accused the government of failing to enforce local content rules in infrastructure projects, saying implementation on the ground falls far short of what the law requires.
Newly installed IEK President Harrison Keter made the claim while speaking in Nairobi after the inauguration of the 2026-2028 IEK Council, where he called for greater participation of local engineers, contractors, consultants and manufacturers in the country's infrastructure sector.
"We just don't talk about 40 per cent local content. I know we have that in law, but how is it in practice? And I'll tell you for free that that is not the case. Probably you're talking about five per cent out of the 40 per cent," said Keter.
Keter noted that infrastructure investments must be structured to build local technical capacity, create jobs and strengthen domestic enterprises rather than rely heavily on foreign expertise and supplies.
"We want to see that all infrastructure projects have defined roles to be played by local consultants and local contractors so that we can develop capacity internally while working in collaboration with the foreign contractors," he explained.
The IEK president called for infrastructure contracts to contain enforceable provisions requiring products and services to be sourced locally where capacity exists.
"We need to embed in our contracts itemised products that will be bought from Kenya. If not manufactured, assembled in Kenya. That is how we are going to grow our manufacturing," he observed.