SPEECH BY HON. DR. FRED MATIANG’I, CABINET SECRETARY FOR LAND,
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DURING THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE
CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR FOR THE BOARD OF
REGISTRATION OF ARCHITECTS AND QUANTITY SURVEYORS (BORAQS) KENYA
AT THE SAFARI PARK HOTEL ON WEDNESDAY, 2ND SEPTEMBER 2015
Principal Secretary
The Chairman and Board of Registration of Architects and Quantity Surveyors,
Arch. Cosmas Maweu
Representative of KIPPRA, Prof. Joseph Kieyah
CEO from the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM)
Our visitors from EAC Partner-States – Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi
The Main Sponsors,
Our visitors from DLR Group -United States of America
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
May I begin by expressing my appreciation for today’s invitation to this
Seminar
whose theme is “Globalization and its impact on the built
environment.” The Board of Registration of Architects and Quantity Surveyors
(BORAQS) Kenya is in the Works Directorate of the Ministry of Land, Housing
and Urban Development.
The mandate of BORAQS is to regulate the
professions of Architecture and Quantity Surveying through training,
registration and promotion of ethical practice in creating a sustainable Built
and Natural Environment.
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I feel at home and am honoured to deliver the key note address to a
distinguished gathering of professionals in the built environment.
I am aware that the main objective of this Seminar is to sensitize the
practicing Architects, Quantity Surveyors, other relevant professionals and
stakeholders on the opportunities and challenges in the built environment in
the global context.
This is an important matter as we continue to implement and deliver on
building projects, we must remain cognizant of the fact that globalization is
an irreversible and a drifting trans-national phenomenon that is beyond the
control of governments, national institutions and local authorities.
I also note with satisfaction that the topics which you will be discussing –
Global Opportunities, Entrepreneurship and Venture Management, Business
Management and Succession Planning and Financial Management, – are
quite relevant and timely. Without doubt they resonate well with the general
trends not only in the global work environment, but also in your esteemed
profession and industry.
Ladies and gentlemen
Globalization – defined as the growing integration of communities and
societies around the world – has dominated international discourse in recent
times. Its impact, on the economies of individual nations has been a subject
of great deliberations. Yet in its wake, it is leaving a trail of rapidly changing
and evolving architectural forms, engineering and construction systems in a
global environment.
Globalization may increase the floating population over a land mass,
improve the economical strength of a country, change the morphology by
means of construction, networking and industrial establishments. It may also
collapse the cultural as well as traditional values of a particular area. The
latter being detrimental to social fabric which particularly in Africa is a key
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consideration.
It is therefore vitally important that as professionals in this sector we strive to
stay abreast of the forces of globalization and the impact on the industry and
understand how they will affect firms and future career opportunities.
There is need therefore to explore the “international built environment” in
detail, examining how it functions on local and regional context.
Do seek answers to questions of managerial, entrepreneurial and professional
opportunities arising from this In addition, challenges and risks that come with
globalization must be adequately addressed, growing crossover and multidisciplinary opportunities should be taken advantage of and we should seek
to understand what makes this “built environment”
different from other
sectors.
Alongside this, seek to identify, review and discuss best practice and lessons
that can be learned from recent events. I am glad that all these are
uppermost in your minds as you share your thoughts and ideas on this subject.
Contributions from the ICT Sector technology and innovation especially
amongst the youth will greatly foster the strides reached to bridge the
technology gap. It is also important in this day to pay great attention to
urban resilience and securitization for safer cities.
This Seminar comes at an opportune time for Kenya when the global spotlight
is focused right here. The discovery and expected commercial drilling of oil in
Turkana; the hosting by Kenya of the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit
which brought together entrepreneurs from all over the world to foster
entrepreneurship; and the just-concluded World Athletics Championships in
Beijing China, where Kenya once again demonstrated its athletic prowess
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with massive haul of medals, have all combined to remind us of how
globalised the world has become.
Regionally, Kenya is playing a key role in the integration process of East
African Community which has now reached the definitive stage of East
African Community Monetary Union whose centerpiece is to facilitate
economic integration of the five EAC Partner-states – Kenya, Uganda,
Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi – and help the regional bloc achieve
sustained economic growth and development.
Kenya is also a key player in regional peace initiatives. For example, our
President, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta was one of the regional leaders who
worked selflessly to ensure the signing of The Peace Agreement bring an end
to Southern Sudan’s 20-month civil war. Our soldiers are also part of African
Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) force, a multi-dimensional peace support
operation whose key objective is to reduce the threat posed by the AlShabaab terrorist group and other militant groups in the region.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The building and construction industry is one of the largest employers in
Kenya. It plays a crucial role in our economy having registered a growth rate
of over 400% in the last 10 years from Ksh40 billion to Ksh200 billion.
The industry is increasingly making valuable contribution in transforming
Kenya into a middle income economy and business hub in line with Vision
2030 economic blue print.
In the last few years, the country has witnessed intensive construction of
several many public and private building projects, roads and other superb
infrastructure projects that are vital to our long term social-economic
development. During this time, the Government has seen the completion of
almost all the stalled projects that were envisioned slightly over ten years ago.
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I am happy to note that they were completed by most of you here and
today all these projects are being utilized for the purposes they were
intended for. The Government has also in the recent past introduced other
programmes under the Infrastructure Development Programme in order to
spur economic development at the grassroots and one good example is the
Economic Stimulus Programme which was meant to facilitate growth and
development in every corner of the country. This has been a success story.
Despite these achievements, this sector continues to experience various
challenges ranging from unplanned settlements, fire disasters to collapsing
buildings.
I am informed that many of these problems are traced to Quacks
masquerading as professionals and rogue contractors who are responsible
for not only shoddy work but also cause unreasonable economic loss and
deaths.
I am aware that your professions have been seriously invaded by these
quacks and am sure these people operate within your knowledge although
you never report them to the authorities. For this reason, I am sure that the
solution to this menace lies within yourselves and the Board.
I confirm to offer full support to the Board to get a lasting solution to this
matter in order to have an industry with responsible professionals.
Ladies and gentlemen,
My Ministry is committed to ensuring that the built environment in this country
is brought to standards similar to those in other parts of the world.
Through the Board, and the Building Inspectorate, an initiative by His
Excellency the President, and the National Construction Authority, we will
endeavour to legislate and curb proliferation of poorly-constructed or
buildings that violate the set building and construction standards. We will
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enforce standards that give us world class buildings, and designs that
promote green technology.
I am aware BORAQS intends to construct a Centre of Excellence that will
have facilities for innovation, idea incubation and conference facilities thus
contributing greatly to the growth and development of the built environment
in the entire East Africa Community. This is coming at the opportune time
when globalization calls for proactive players.
In this regard, my Ministry will support the Board to review the existing statutes
with a view to aligning them with global best practices. We will also forge
collaborative partnerships, both regionally and globally to help us move to
the next level.
In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to call upon all the stakeholders in
the built industry to think global in all our spheres of profession.
Finally, I wish to thank the Board of Registration of Architects and Quantity
Surveyors for organizing this Continuous Professional Development seminar for
its registered persons and other stakeholders in the Built Environment.
It is my hope that in the next two days you will gain valuable insight that will
equip you with the knowledge that will go a long way to contribute to
making you competitive in the globalizing world and enhance the manner in
which our projects are implemented and managed. With those few remarks,
It is now my pleasure to declare this Seminar officially open.
Thank you.
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