The Cutting Edge

By THE WATCHMAN
Posted Thursday, August 19 2010 at 17:02

LET’S SAY THANKS. As Kenyans pat one another on the back for a peaceful referendum, Robert Kimutai says that all should spare a thought for the Red Cross, which played a key role by going to the rescue of those who badly needed help during the post-2007 election mayhem.

Robert adds: “I believe they were ready to assist us again this time. To say thanks, in the run-up to the August 27 promulgation of the new Constitution, the people should donate whatever they can to the Red Cross to boost its relief work.”

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IT'S NOT OUR FAULT. The KPLC is not to blame for delays in connecting electricity to Antony Simbowo’s mother’s house in Nyanza, says corporate communications official Kevin Sang.

“Our investigations reveal that it was due mainly to the late submission of the wiring certificate for the house. This was done on July 23, more than a month after she paid connection charges. A contractor has moved to the site and should complete the construction and metering of the house by the end of next week.”

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WORK HAS RESUMED. Conceding that repairs on Aoko Road at Nairobi South ‘B’ had stalled as David Muriithi stated, Town Clerk Philip Kisia says the work has since resumed and should be completed soon.

However, he adds, the contractor is now working on the part of the road from Kapiti and Mwangeka roads.

And though the section of Aoko Road from Mwangeka Road to the entrance to Riverbank estate had initially not been included in the current contract, Kisia explains, the council is seriously considering integrating it into the rehabilitation project.

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ZEAL EXCESSIVE. The perimeter wall being built around Kenyatta University is beautiful near the main gate on the Thika superhighway, but it’s unnecessarily going too far, stretching through a swamp towards Thika Town, notes a rather sceptical Domi Gathuru.

He poses: “Is it really necessary to have such an expensive wall running around the entire institution?

Just out of curiosity, how long will the wall be once it’s finished and how much is the university spending on this project?

In my view, a well-maintained green hedge would have been more beautiful than a stone wall.”

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HELB ME PAY. Last month, fresh graduate Stephen Kiilu wrote to the Higher Education Loans Board asking for details on how he can start repaying his university loan.

To date he has not heard from HELB, “which is quite surprising, considering the threats in newspaper adverts to the loan beneficiaries to pay up or else…”.

Stephen now fears that though clearly unenthusiastic about its obligations, HELB won’t hesitate to penalise him should he default.

His contact is smkiilu2ke@yahoo.com.

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MICHAEL'S LEGACY. Outgoing Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph’s legacy, Ombi Omba says, includes building a base station on the remote Mfang’ano Island in Lake Victoria to enable locals to communicate with the rest of the country and beyond.

When he returned there to vote in the referendum, Ombi was pleasantly surprised to find the booster already commissioned and “the people didn’t have to climb up trees to make calls”.

Being able to send money to his ageing parents by M-Pesa to a place with no roads is the best gift Joseph has given to the island.

Have a memorable day, won’t you!

E-mail: watchman@nation.co.ke or write to Watchman, P.O.BOX 49010, Nairobi 00100. Fax 2213946.