The Cutting Edge

By THE WATCHMAN Posted Sunday, February 20 2011 at 18:37

ART OF COMMUNICATION. Talk about President Kibaki having given a rare press conference in response to National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende’s rejection of his list of appointments to top jobs is misleading, says Muriithi Muriuki. According to him, there is a difference between addressing a press conference and reading a media statement. “The President didn’t hold a press conference. He just read a statement and went away. I’m still looking forward to the day when he will address a press conference and field questions.”

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PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL? Speaker Marende’s “wise ruling on Thursday, which is what he should have done a long time ago”, brought out the real character of Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, remarks Onyango Alare. “At his press conference, he came across as a very bitter, arrogant and disrespectful man. These are hardly the characteristics of someone aspiring to be president. He should be reminded that what will determine the number of votes he will get is how he conducts himself. Uhuru should be more modest.”

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JOBLESS MILLIONS. The stalemate over the four top constitutional jobs is disheartening, says X.N. Iraki. “Why is the whole country fixated on these four positions and yet there are millions of jobless Kenyans? Why can’t the two principals, President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, sit down and agree on the names? This seems to vindicate those against two centres of power. After all, one evidence of the power you hold is appointments to plum jobs. A snap election could set our country free...”

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FILTH IS BACK. Nairobi’s Landhies Road is a mess, remarks Bright Okiya, adding: “Everything here is unfinished and filthy. Road repairs were abandoned a few months ago, leaving gaping trenches, potholes and debris strewn all over.” Muthurwa hawkers’ market is also an eyesore, with its stinking filth flowing into Landhies Road. The Country Bus Station, popularly known as ‘Machakos Airport’, is as filthy and pothole-ridden as it was in the 1990s. Has Town Clerk Philip Kisia ever visited the area? I don’t think so. It’s a disgrace.

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SUFFERING IN SILENCE. With four of his children studying at university, Willy Chelule is a proud parent, indeed, but he says he has suffered silently in the past five years because all of them have been applying, but none has ever been granted a loan by the Higher Education Loans Board. Says he: “I’m an ordinary rural Kenyan parent with three of my children studying medicine and one taking a course in communication. Whenever they apply for loans, none succeeds.” Willy can be reached on Tel. 0729862224/0734729863.

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PLEASANT SURPRISE. While rushing on Valentine’s Day to enjoy some quality time with his beloved, Mwangi Kiragu stopped at the NIC Bank’s ATM at Capital Centre on Mombasa Road, Nairobi, to deposit some cash. At the ATM, Mwangi, the NIC Nakumatt Junction branch account holder, indicated the money in the envelope as Sh37,000, when it was actually Sh38,000. On checking the following day, he was pleasantly surprised to note that his account had been credited with Sh38,000. “This, to me, is the height of honesty,” says Mwangi.

Have a reliable day, won’t you!