Bride in the bush

A rare kind of wedding happened today in Kajiado East constituency. After attending a colourful wedding in Kima Catholic church, the newly weds took a car ride for 2km, thereafter, they had to walk home since the rest of the journey home, there was no road.

There she was, a bride in her wedding gown, walking home, jumping from left to right dodging the muddy puddles.

Her best maid clutching the trail of the gown, the best man carried the brides jacket. The groom was tasked with carrying the brides bag.

As they walked home, I was amazed at how on such a big day in a persons life, there are no roads in Kima. A bride will be walking home after her wedding to start a new life, probably no honeymoon as the first task is to walk all the way home.

Where is the road? As we approach 2019, why is it that there is no road? Where is the leadership in this place?

How can a bride walk home simply because there is no road?

Time to ponder.

Feel free to w

Spanner in the works!!

Recently, I stumbled upon an announcement that the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) were holding a dinner at Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi. The dinner had reserved only 20 slots for engineers to attend. Was the dinner meant for the officials of IEK or was it to the good of the members registered as engineers? How can these 20 members truly represent the issues of the rest of the members?

Additionally, as the dinner progressed in the ball room of Intercontinental hotel, right there in Nairobi, there is a foreign engineer who is busy at work, supervising and executing engineering projects. As Kenyan engineers are focused in board room meetings, planning, promising and procrastinating their targets in tangible engineering, the expatriate engineers are awarded major engineering contracts, getting things done, getting accolades in the industry and acceptance of the citizenry.

The announcement of the IEK Engineers' dinner

Can the Kenyan Engineer show evidence of a major contribution to the engineering fraternity? The Kenyan engineer has been relegated as a second class citizen, in their own country. Let me tell you how this has happened:

Scenario

A student joining university is advised to pursue an accredited engineering degree from an accredited university. After graduating, the next steps are the registration with the engineering institutions as a graduate engineer. This is the start of all the trouble. First, the graduate engineer cannot locate sufficient projects where he/she can be mentored. Even the current registered professional engineers do not trust the engineering system, since they are granted fewer and fewer opportunities, reason being that the expatriate engineers from Asia have taken over literally all engineering projects. Be it from manufacturing, infrastructure and of late, the real estate industry. The registered professional engineer is a frustrated fellow bearing a title Engineer, but even the county government cannot trust him/her with a grand project.

This frustration is passed on to the society, which now looks up to the Asians for expertise in engineering technology. So, the professional engineers are challenged in their area, can you imagine then the shattered dreams of the graduate engineers?

Coupled to this, the graduate engineer swims all alone in the sea of red tape, procedures and a maze of processes that are a hindrance towards registration as a professional engineer. This is a real spanner thrown in the works

No matter the number of engineering conferences we will hold, no matter the number of stakeholder meetings we have, so long as Kenyan engineers (both professional and graduate) are not involved in practical projects, the engineers are up to a major challenge to prove that they can compete with the expatriate engineers. That is why you will still pay for a Japanese engineer to travel all the way to install a lathe machine. The engineers in Kenya merely reduced to consumers of engineering products. 

Lessons to learn from India

A beautiful story is told about TATA industries in India. Back in the 90’s Mercedes Benz got into a contract with India to produce Mercedes Benz lorries due to the low labour cost that an Indian engineer and artisan would charge in manufacturing. At the end of the contract with Mercedes Benz, the Indian government ensured that all equipment that were used to manufacture the Mercedes trucks were left in India as the Germans headed back home. The next step that India took gave birth to TATA industries. The first TATA lorries were almost identical to the old Mercedes lorry. With the incorporation of the Indian engineers from the Mercedes factory, they mentored the production of TATA. This led to a progressive improvement of the TATA models and over time, TATA became an affordable truck for the Indians, then came the pick ups, and gradually came the saloon and the SUVs.
Right now, TATA is a favorite choice in Kenya for tipper trucks and buses. TATA even produced an affordable car for all citizens, the popular TATA Nano.

Can Kenya learn from this? Of course yes!!.

Kenyan engineers should be actively engaged in grand engineering projects, and have a way of retaining the technology used in the manufacturing process.  When the project is completed, the Kenyan engineer should take over, innovate and use the machinery, to produce their own Kenyan product.
Is it possible that in 10 years, Kenyan engineers should fabricate our own railway engine and the train tracks? or even have a Kenyan company performing the tunneling for the railway industry?

Would we need to be importing everything from Asia after running projects for 10years?

So, what do you say after reading this? Are you still gong to stay in the cocktails and ball rooms tossing glasses? Or are you going to step out and claim your position as an engineer?

Be bold. Act now...Claim your position….Kenyan engineer..

Eng. Luke Toroitich

ltoroitich@gmail.com

EVERY KENYAN ENGINEER MUST READ THIS!!

Finally, reality has set in. For such a long time, some 3,000 or so registered engineers in Kenya have dominated, capitalized and taken advantage of few opportunities in the field of engineering. They even went as far as passing the Engineers Act 2011, an act that seeks to empower the Engineers Board of Kenya with exceess powers to run the show, purport to run universities offering engineering, and register engineers. 

Interestingly, the registered engineers are again put in two categories: Graduate and professional. Their logic was to have graduate engineers to be mentored by professional engineers. This is a good thing, however, what happens to a graduate engineer who fulfills all these requirements and have been mentored for after 5years? It takes effort, time and of course money to get registered as a professional engineer.

All these hurdles have ensured that there are fewer and fewer registered engineers in the field. 

We welcomed the Chinese to Kenya, we allowed them to build Thika Superhighway, we allowed the Chinese to build the University of Nairobi towers, while on the ground floor, our students studying engineering were not involved in the colossal project. What do you think happens to the Kenyan engineer then?

Currently, the Kenyan engineer, whether professional or graduate is losing their job, simply because we are inexperienced, demoralized and more so, we are not united as engineers. 

If you look at the qualifications of these Chinese engineers, their country grants them practicing licenses just six months after they graduate, they sit for a professional exam and that is it....that is it...This then empowers the new engineer to work in the field, all this time gaining valuable experience. The Chinese system recognises both the diploma, degree and certificate levels of engineering, thus the areas of speciality have resulted in highly skilled personnel.

It is interesting to learn that even for the registered Kenyan engineers supervising projects, we still read about collapsed buildings, collapsed bridges and all manner of calamities.

Now, The same registered Kenyan engineers are plannning to march on the streets, claiming that they are educated and they would wish to be given government contracts. Their letter informing the Police about the protest is here below:

Wait and see how a trickle of engineers (those registered) would waste their time to be hit by the scorching sun, wearing helmets and making a protest. Their voices will run hoarse, singing a song of a tragedy that they called it upon themselves. Their voices would not even feature in main stream media owing to their small number, and thus can have little impact. If they would be so bold, they may mask their faces, do their mini protest and head back to their offices after an hour in the sun.

When did the rain start beating us???

EBK and IEK has succeeded in creating an exclusive club of very few professional engineers, majority of whom are still referring to their 1980 university notes and so rigid to adapt to the changing engineering landscape.

 That is why our engineers are quick to oppose any new technology like interlocking bricks technology, or alternative building methods, or new engineering disciplines like marine engineering and micro controllers, simply because they have no idea of how the modern things work out.

Simply put, if the Engineers Board of Kenya and the the Institution of Engineers of Kenya does not update their mandates, soon we will be schooled and managed by the Chinese engineers, majority of whom have a college diploma, but can deliver their task with precision.

WAKE UP Engineers!!!!   Let us form our own Engineers Union and turn the tables on the current engineering regulations, Have ourselves fully registered and gain international recognition.

FIRST: All engineering graduates should use the prefix Eng. on their names (after they get their graduation certificate)

SECOND: All engineers fresh from university should be attached to a government project

THIRD: All graduates should sit for an exam, upon passing this exam, they are given a license to practice as a fully fledged, independent, self responsible engineer.

FOURTH: Let the world see what Kenyan Engineers can do and achieve

Eng. Luke Toroitich

ltoroitich@gmail.com

June Graduation season in Kenya

The month of June is the season for mid year graduations in Kenya. From public to private universities, there is joy and celebration for parents and relatives of the graduands attending graduation ceremonies.

Graduation is a grand day for any person receiving the prestigious award. On the graduation day parents, friends and families of these graduates travel from all corners of the country and the region to witness the occasion.

The graduands adorn their academic attire and walk with pride, savoring each moment, reminiscing burning the midnight oil, revising for the exams, writing the reports and assignments. The hopes of the graduands are at the roof top, sensing the excitement in the air.

Many a times, the people watching the graduands are full of admiration and envy simultaneously. Interestingly, the envious ones wish they would be graduating on this day. Even more, there is that student who is yet to graduate, watching with envy that one day their day will come. The portion of people watching with admiration are those, perhaps, those who could not get a chance to study in the University owing to challenges best known to them...

As the graduands gather in the graduation arena, they excitedly reunite with their classmates, catching up on their progress in their lives after campus

When the Chancellor confers their degrees, then the reality dawns on all the graduands, .....THIS IS IT!! We are now GRADUATES !!!

Reality check 

Unknown to the graduates is the reality that outside the confines of the University, each graduate must work their way to develop their country. This would include each graduate creating jobs in the job market, not necessarily expecting to be employed right away. Currently in Kenya, each university  awards certificates and degrees to thousands of high spirited graduates, who expect to get a job, but often their high hopes are deflated by the reality of unemployment

My two cents of wisdom?.....There are no jobs. but there is alot of work......
Dear graduates, manage your hopes and expectations, as you walk through the path of life, don't forget to smell the flowers. This means that even if you have graduated, try to obtain more skills to boost the quality of your current degree. Use your God given talents to make money, use your time constructively, attend short courses like management, leadership, public policy, register yourself in a professional body in line with your degree, interact and network. You will be surprised that some job vacancies are never advertised, but are granted to trusted friends and acquaintances.

Speaking at a past graduation ceremony

As you proceed with life after graduation, don't forget to assist your parents, even as you succeed in your career. Visit your parents, spend time with them, appreciate the efforts they have made to help you be where you are today.

Above all, make a difference in somebody's life, use your knowledge to benefit the society. Finally,
I wish you all the best in your endeavors and exploits in life

CONGRATULATIONS

Google Maps Local Guide

2018 has started on a high note for me. I recently subscribed to be a Google Maps Local Guide. The programme involves my reviews of the places I visit as I travel.

My reviews become critical feedback to travelers and tourists who may need to make decisions to choose that restaurant or a picnic in a park. Google Maps are accessible on any mobile device, but the reviews of Local guides like me As of 10th June 2018, I was a LEVEL 6 Local Guide.

As of that date, I had made 48 reviews,coupled with uploading some photos from my point of view as I captured [places on interest from my camera lens. Suddenly, I feel so comfortable again using my camera to record the places I visit.

Here are my reviews:

These are the places I have reviewed in Kenya, giving details and my personal experience.


Google Maps also allows Local Guides to add new places that are not covered in the Maps. This is FANTASTIC!! This comes in handy when adding those remote regions or a new place opened recently.

Further afield, I have reviewed attractions in China, giving crucial feedback to users 

The reviews made by me became popular as users interacted with the maps, with over 3000 views of my reviews by May 2018.

You can sign up to be a Google Local Guide simply by subscribing on Google Maps. Come on, Lets Guide and give our reviews