As Kenya struggles to come to terms with the increased casualties caused by collapsing buildings, mostly in urban areas, Engineer Monda Makori explains that some investors still defy the standard way of constructing safe houses.
Are building professionals in Kenya worth the money? Do you think 3.5% is a fair rate for professionals in the construction industry? Are professionals in Kenya worth the money?
Engineer Makori says one always gets what one pays for. That much, he says, is indisputable. He explains that if one chooses to “save costs” by working with a quack who charges much less, they should expect services of the same proportion in value. They’ll probably copy-paste scheme designs from the web and then submit the blueprints without their accompanying working drawings.
“So, in the end, your contractor and fundis will shoot in the dark. Now that is how you ultimately end up with a poorly implemented project, and possibly even exceeding your budget,” he mentioned.
He explains that the architect’s fees are based on that stipulated by CAP 525 of the Laws of Kenya that govern the practices of Architects and Quantity Surveyors, viz. Professional fees: 6% of the total cost of construction + 16% V.A.T.
“The scale of fees for quantity surveyors (QS) is 3 1/2 % of the total cost of construction + 16% V.A.T. An Engineer’s professional fee is 3% of the total cost of structural works + 16% V.A.T,” the engineer said.
The Report, he said, will expound further the Client brief vis-à-vis the interpretation of the Land Surveyor’s site documentation leading to the preparation of small-scale architectural layouts for purposes of Client approval
He further explained that at this particular stage, the fee for professional services rendered by the consultants mentioned above would be the architect (1% of the total estimated cost of construction + 16% Value Added Tax – VAT) and quantity Surveyor ( 1/2 % ditto – applicable as said before).
