By Dennis Ayemba
Kitololo Consultants is guided by the determination to deliver value to the clients through the application of skilled professional services at all stages of the project cycle. The firm is an independent civil and structural engineering company rendering professional services to the public and private sector clients in project planning, design, management, construction supervision, contract administration and maintenance programming.
The firm was first registered in 1975; initially as Kitololo and Partners but changed the name and style in 1984 to the current one after restructuring. According to Eng. A.S Kitololo a Registered Consulting Engineer, Kitololo Consultants is committed to the enforcement of the professional ethics and enhancement of standards in the execution of the tasks involved and timely delivery of the services.
“The reputation of a consultant is based on past performance, our record speaks for itself. We are one of the leading civil engineering consultancy companies in Kenya providing engineering solutions for a wide selection of clients including government ministries and corporations, local authorities, non-governmental agencies, public companies and private developers,” he said.
Eng Kitololo is the first native Kenyan to graduate with a Civil Engineering degree from the University of East Africa, Nairobi Campus (formerly Royal College, Nairobi). He is also the first native Kenyan to have worked as the Municipal Engineer of Mombasa (now City of Mombasa).
Moreover, Eng Kitololo is the first native Kenyan to set up a Civil Engineering consultancy private practice in Kenya, and also the first native Kenyan to have been appointed as a Local Unesco Fellow in the department of engineering at the University of Nairobi;
The Engineer has been a Civil Engineering consultant for the then UN Habitat mission to Lesotho and one man mission to Uganda whereby he wrote building regulations single handedly. Additionally, he has designed and managed numerous engineering projects in Kenya owned by the public sector as well as the private sector.
He therefore insists that, experience has proved that value can be added through better planning concepts, more innovative technical designs, improved construction programmes, lower whole-life costs and reduced project risks. Their objective as a firm, therefore, is to assist the clients achieve their development goals from conception through planning and appraisal, design and implementation, handover and commissioning.
“Construction projects have become relatively complex in terms of design and implementation and the traditional methods have consequently been rendered inadequate technically, legally and administratively. Such situation has given rise to increasing incidence of cost and time overruns and culminated in end- products of low quality. In order to address this scenario Kitololo Consultants engages in-house specialist to deal effectively with all aspects of project management and supervision of the construction operations,” said the engineer.
The professional services offered by the firm are categorized as: Project Services which include: site investigations and selection, feasibility studies, project management, cost estimates, project planning and engineering control; Project Design which include: topographical survey, soil investigation, preliminary design reporting, final design and details, specifications, measurements and quantities, and tender documentation; and Project Supervision which include: site management, construction supervision, quality control, materials testing, cost control, contract administration, maintenance scheduling, final accounting and as-built documentation.
Eng. Kitololo believes the role of the consultant must extend beyond physical completion of projects. The firm, therefore, aims at providing responsive service before, during and after each project. “Close working relationship with clients is essential in order to understand their needs. The firm places great emphasis on this and endeavor to find new and better ways of meeting the needs of the clients. Appropriately qualified and experienced professionals are assigned to every project in order to achieve technical quality and timely completion,” he said.
Kitololo Consultants’ professional and technical personnel have worked in the public and private sectors and acquired invaluable experience in the planning, design, contract administration and construction management including project commissioning and maintenance programmes. Since its incorporation, the firm has been engaged as a consultant on projects implemented or funded by the Government of Kenya, World Bank, Africa Development Bank, USaid, EU, other bilateral/multilateral aid agencies, parastatal corporations, local authorities, public companies and private developers.
Some of the significant projects undertaken by the firm include: The new 22-storey University of Nairobi Tower with 2 basement floors and 500 capacity lecture theatres, offering state of the art auditorium and a helipad; 20 storey office building with three-Ievel basement in Nairobi City centre in reinforced concrete frame, 14 storey office block with one-level basement in Nairobi City centre in reinforced concrete frame; 200 residential maisonettes in Eastlands, Nairobi.
The services involved river canalisation works, stormwater drainage, sewer reticulation, water distribution network, roads, streetlighting and structural design of houses; 200 flats with social centre, shopping and nursery school in Mombasa, Kenya. The services included estate roads, surface water drainage, water storage and reticulation, sewerage and the structural design of four-storeyed blocks of flats in reinforced concrete frame.
Expansion programme for Egerton University in Njoro, Kenya from 500 to 10,000 students comprising administration block, library, 20 senior staff houses, laboratories, workshops, students’ residential flats, kitchen and dining hall complex, slaughterhouse, fire station, centralized laundry, 300 junior staff housing, roadworks, streetlighting, water supply and sewerage and sewage treatment works, 8 Technical Training Institutes spread in all the former provinces in Kenya with capacities for 4,500 students in fields of hospitality, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering and information technology. The complexes consist of workshops, hotel, lecture theatres, social halls, students’ flats, teachers’ houses, play fields, shopping centre, catering unit, dispensary, students centre and full engineering services.
With reference to challenges in the industry, Eng Kitololo pointed out that, some technical firms are awarded projects even if their qualification and experience are wanting; as a consequence of corrupt practices. This has in the case of numerous public projects, led to time and cost overruns. “Corruption has affected quality standards of finished products because the supervising professionals succumb to compromise by constructors whose aim is to maximize profits. Enforcement of the Engineers Act will enhance professionalism and yield improved quality management in the implementation of construction projects,” he asserted.
“Another challenge is that, the Registrar of Companies does not appear to be enforcing the Engineers Act provision that stipulates that a foreign firm can be registered in Kenya provided it is incorporated in the country and at least 51% of the shares are held by Kenyan citizens. This has led to many foreign firms doing business in Kenya with zero shareholding by Kenyans,” he said. He therefore urged the national government to streamline the Registrar of Companies in order to promote the local engineering consultancy sector of construction industry.
“The various governmental entities as well as the Kenyan public at large are oblivious of the requirements of the Engineers Act and because of this; engagement of consulting engineers has remained haphazard and based on anything but the stipulated qualification requirements. This scenario has begotten the inflow of foreigners doing what can be done by the locals, finished products of poor quality, white elephant projects, over expenditures and inordinate delays in completion of projects, malfunctioning infrastructure services, collapsing buildings and unprecedented high costs of projects,” he added.
