Guest Writer, Nairobi:
On 30th May 2025, the Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK) will hold its leadership elections. But what should be a hotbed of professional debate and energy has instead become an exercise in quiet apathy. Of all the positions open, only one has attracted more than one aspirant. The rest will be filled unopposed. It is not unity. It is fatigue. It is disinterest. It is a loud silence from members who no longer see value in running for office.
As a registered Land Surveyor, I say this with deep concern. For years, Land Surveyors have carried the Institution. We have shown up in every meeting, engaged in every stakeholder consultation, sat in taskforces, contributed to statutory reforms, and kept the engine running even when the fuel was low. We have done so with pride and professionalism. But we are not the entire Institution. It is time the other chapters — the Valuers, the Property Managers, the Estate Agents, the Building Surveyors — pull their weight. The survival of the Institution depends on shared responsibility. It is no longer sustainable for one profession to shoulder it all.
The ISK brings together eight diverse professions: Valuers, Property Managers, Geospatial Experts, Geomatics Engineers, Land Surveyors, Building Surveyors, Estate Agents, and Facilities Managers. That makes it a giant on paper. But today, it stands like a giant on plastic legs. It is rigid, fragile, and no longer commands the respect it once did. We are watching a slow collapse. And sadly, the leadership seems unaware.
This Institution is stuck in a 1982 model trying to survive in a 2025 reality. Leadership has become obsessed with ceremonial outputs, fixated on subscription drives, and strangely proud of issuing press statements that barely make it into the media. It has lost its voice in national discourse on land, property, and development. It has become a passive custodian of headcounts, not a driver of reform.
There is no research. There is no data. There is no clear direction. We are left with a calendar of dinners, award ceremonies, AGMs, and endless meetings with banks that yield no policy outcomes. Meanwhile, professional undercutting continues unchecked. Quacks operate freely. Members suffer in silence.
ISK has not just failed to adapt. It has failed to lead.
It is time to confront a basic truth: ISK has no legal clout. It is registered under the Societies Act, Chapter 108. The same law that governs church groups, and self-help groups. It has no statutory recognition. It cannot regulate. It cannot license. It cannot enforce disciplinary decisions. Its so-called code of ethics is voluntary. Its committee actions are unenforceable. It is not a regulator. It is an association. And not a particularly effective one.
Compare this with other professional bodies. The Law Society of Kenya operates under the Advocates Act, with statutory powers to accredit, discipline, and protect their professions. In contrast, ISK is a glorified networking club — loud in speeches, weak in substance.
The upcoming elections have exposed the rot. The fact that only one post has attracted more than one candidate should worry every member. We are not short of professionals. We are short of belief. People no longer see ISK as a place to serve with impact. They see it as irrelevant. And when even the most committed professionals stop showing interest in leadership, the problem is not with them. It is with the Institution.
We must also be honest about where the energy has come from. It is Land Surveyors who have fueled the fire all these years. It is our chapter that has driven training, regulatory representation, and national engagement. We have filled gaps where other chapters went quiet. But that era must end. This is a shared house. Every profession must rise to the occasion. Leadership is not a burden for one group to carry while others coast along.
Maybe it is time we reimagined ISK altogether. Trying to house eight professions under one roof may have made sense in the past. Today, it has become a logistical and strategic nightmare. Each chapter faces unique market pressures. Valuers need to respond to market dynamics. Estate Agents must deal with rogue players and weak enforcement. Geospatial practitioners are facing disruption from automation and artificial intelligence. Trying to speak with one voice has resulted in weak, uncoordinated noise.
Perhaps it is time to consider breaking up the Institution into autonomous professional bodies. Let each profession chart its own path, pursue its own statutory status, and develop its own agenda. ISK can remain as a coordinating platform, leaner, smarter, and truly collaborative. But this current format is not just outdated. It is dragging everyone down.
We cannot continue celebrating empty dinners and issuing directionless press statements. We cannot keep telling young professionals that things will improve while doing nothing to improve them. We cannot pretend to represent professionals when we do not even inspire them to vote.
Real reform is not about meetings. It is about relevance. It is about fighting for your members, generating insight, taking a stand in policy, and producing tools that matter. Right now, ISK is doing none of these.
It is no wonder members are walking away. Some are forming new collectives. Others are joining global platforms. The world is not waiting for us. It is moving on.
ISK still has potential. Its membership pool is highly skilled. Its chapters include experts who advise governments, banks, courts, and corporations. But that power is wasted without direction.
The fuse is wet. But the dynamite is still there.
Leadership must act. The silence from this election is not apathy. It is a warning. If we do not listen now, we will be irrelevant tomorrow. And when that day comes, it will not be because outsiders dismantled us. It will be because we dismantled ourselves — slowly, passively, and proudly.
This is a guest article submitted by contributor. The views do not necessarily reflect those of Property Weekly Africa
