EIZ optimistic on new fees regulation

Like lawyers, accountants and other professionals that have gazetted guidelines on fees that they are required to charge for their services, the government has approved new regulation regulating pricing engineering professional services in Zambia. Until now, the engineering sector in Zambia has existed without a framework that regulates the minimum chargeable fees by engineers due to lack of enabling legislation to ensure total professionalism in pricing by eliminating unhealthy competition such as undercutting in pricing during bidding processes. The unregulated pricing of engineering services has had many pitfalls.

In some cases, some providers of engineering services, in desperate bids to win certain tenders, have resorted to undercutting rivals with dire consequences on both the engineering service providers and the consumers as the quality of the final product tends to be below prescribed and acceptable standards. And this is why the recently government approved Engineering Institution of Zambia (Professional Service Fees) Regulations, 2026 also referred to as S.I No. 34 of 2026 is being held as a “significant milestone” for the local engineering sector.

So, S.I No. 34 of 2026 is essentially aimed at streamlining and aligning the engineering sector and professional practice by providing guidelines for professional fees to be charged for services rendered by engineering professionals. “In terms of what these fees mean to EIZ members like other regulated professions such as law, architecture here in Zambia, engineering now has an approved framework that recognizes the value of the professional services.” Eng.

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Kamungu emphasized that the prescribed fees to apply to professional engineering services rendered by qualified practitioners should not be misinterpreted as employment remuneration. According to Zambian labour laws which are also consistent with international best practices, employment remuneration is compensated through a salary – a fixed amount paid by an employer to an employee as compensation for ongoing employment, usually on a monthly basis and determined by employment contracts, organisational salary structures, and collective agreements among other considerations. On the other hand professional service fee is the amount charged for specialised professional services provided by an independent, qualified and licensed practitioner or professional firm for a specific assignment, project or consultancy. These fees are charged only when professional services are engaged and are intended to compensate the professional for the expertise, responsibility, time, skill and experience required to perform the work.

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