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.

“The whole purpose is not merely to prescribe fees but to promote professionalism and generally, the quality service of work. And therefore, by providing this transparency fees structure, our members are better positioned to dictate the necessary expertise, time and resources required to deliver engineering services,” Engineering Institution of Zambia (EIZ) Chief Executive Officer and Registrar Eng. David Kamungu said in an interview.

“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. 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.

For a long time in Zambia, the engineering profession has not been able to regulate the minimum chargeable by engineers due to a lack of enabling legislation.

This absence of legislation to regulate the minimum chargeable fees by engineers has exposed consumers of engineering services to unhealthy competition such as undercutting as there has been no adequate buffer against harmful practices.

“For our members, this provides clarity and they also provide consistency and fairness in the pricing of engineering services. They also help eliminate unfair price competition but also protect the integrity of the profession in ensuring that only experts are approved to perform these jobs,” Eng. Kamungu said.

In the build-up to the formulation of S.I No. 34 of 2026 Regulations, some stakeholders expressed reservation that the standardizing of minimum Professional Service Fees could lead to an increase in cost of accessing engineering services in the country.

But with any functioning legislation, the formulation of new law regulating the minimum Professional Service Fees for engineering services was done with a specific focus on consumer protection which is at the core of any rational and ethical business practice.

The focus of S.I No. 34 of 2026 is to ensure consumer protection is implemented and enforced through minimum fees that are considered fair, consistent with required quality and meet minimum professional standards.

“Regarding the concerns, it is important to appreciate that quality Engineering is an investment rather than a cost. The objective of these regulations is not to make Engineering services expensive, but to ensure the delivery of professionally and sustainably but also equally by the service providers,” Eng. Kamungu explained. `

Who Is Eligible to charge Professional Fees?

The approved professional services fees only apply to members that hold valid EIZ practicing certificates such registered Professional Engineers, Engineering Technologists, Engineering technicians and registered engineering Craftspersons among others.
“So, those are members that have our registration certificates that are issued in accordance with the Engineering Registration Board,” says Eng. Kamungu.

How are the Professional fees going to be charged?

Typical of any assignment where professional services are billed according to the time spent on the work, the Regulations prescribe hourly fee rates expressed in fee units varied through the practitioner’s professional classification, years of relevant experience and the category of engineering professional among other considerations.

To determine the actual monetary amount chargeable per hour, the prescribed fee units are multiplied by the current Fee Unit Value established under Statutory Instrument No. 25 of 2024, which is presently K0.40 (40 Ngwee) per fee unit.

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