Surveyors call for fast-tracking of industry Bills

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Surveyors have called for the fast-tracking of several pending Bills into laws.

The Bills, they said, include the Surveying and Mapping Bill, the Real Estate Regulation Bill, 2023, the Land Surveyors Registration Bill 2021, the Valuers Bill 2022, and the Land Administration Managers Bill, 2014.

Speaking on Tuesday in Nairobi after marking the Global Surveyors Day, the surveyors said the Bills are key for the growth of the real estate sector in the country, and enacting some will help modernise the outdated ones.

“So we have developed The Land Administration Manager’s Bill, 2024, which we have passed on to the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works, Housing, and Urban Development of Kenya, Alice Wahome,” said Eric Nyadimo, President of the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK).

“This is so that the Bill can be progressed, taken to the Attorney General and finally to the Cabinet and then to the National Assembly for formulation and enactment, of course, through various debates.”

Nyadimo, who said this after marching from their offices along Taifa Road through the Central Business District (CBD) to the University of Nairobi, said the Bill is yet to be transmitted to the Attorney General.

“We are asking for fast-tracking of the Land Administration Manager’s Bill and not only it but also other surveyors’ Bills like the Surveying and Mapping Bill, Land Surveyors Registration Bill, and Valuers Bill, 2022 that are pending,” said Nyadimo.

“Up to now, there has been no progress on that particular Bill (Land Administration Manager’s Bill, 2014), and there is a need to amend The Survey Act 1961 to make certain provisions.”

Unlicensed practitioners

He said a task force appointed in January 2021 by the Ministry of Lands, which he chaired, developed a comprehensive Surveying and Mapping Bill, Land Surveyors Registration Bill, and a new policy.

These legal documents are key because they are aimed at modernising the outdated ones and aligning with the 2010 Constitution and combating unlicensed practitioners, respectively.

Nyadimo made the calls while marking Global Surveyors Day, themed “Smart Mapping Connects the World, Building a Better Future Together.”

It was celebrated on Friday, 21, but ISK did theirs on Tuesday due to the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The celebration saw the ISK members engage with university students undertaking studies in surveying, real estate, and land administration.

“This was a specialised event where the march culminated in a professional engagement discussion at the university, where we wanted to interact with the students so that we could mentor and empower them for the future,” said Nyadimo.

Nyadimo called on the public to recognise the role of surveyors and use registered ones.

“We are saying that the surveyor is at the heart of every infrastructural development that occurs not only in this country but globally,” he said.

Internship opportunities

The institution said Kenya will host the Geospatial and Real Estate Conference between May 13 and 14 in Mombasa, followed by the International Federation of Surveyors congress, which will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, towards the end of May.

During the students’ engagement, ISK said it is working on an internship portal to help them get internship opportunities to be able to improve their professional abilities, especially once they graduate from the universities.

“So by developing an internship policy, we are creating a portal where we can be able to link the students with the industry so that they can be able to easily find internship opportunities,” said Nyadimo.

On the unsuitability of the new seven National Land Commissioners who were sworn in on Monday, he said the matter is now in court, with the hearing for April 13, 2026.

“We are trying to make an improvement for the future and to ensure that in the future the commissioners that will be appointed will actually have to follow what the law actually stipulates,” said Nyadimo.

“The case is at the High Court, and we have already submitted our part. We are waiting for the other people who have been enjoined in the case to make their submissions.”

Speaking at the student engagement, senior lecturer in the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering at the University of Nairobi Dr Simpson Nyambane, said surveying and medicine are the oldest professions that have been evolving thanks to technology.

Dr. Nyambane said opportunities in the surveying profession are increasing, creating more jobs