The cutting edge

By  THE WATCHMAN
Posted  Thursday, May 19 2011 at 18:48

Drivers’ courtesy. Alarmed at what he fears could be an attempt by MPs to outlaw opinion polls, Kamotho Njenga wishes to share the findings of one on motorists’ behaviour. Without disclosing who carried it out and when, he says the “most tolerant are truck drivers, the most courteous, limousine drivers, the modest are Nissan and Toyota saloon owners, the speed nuts are Prado drivers, and the best at overlapping, Probox drivers. The runners-up in overlapping are matatus and GK drivers. The loudest hooters — Vitz drivers.”

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Tattered road. Bamburi Cement Company has noted Gideon Kirui’s complaint about the appalling state of the road outside their plant at Athi River. However, plant manager Daniel Ndunda says five firms have been discussing with the government the possibility of building an 800-metre concrete road. Says he: “Bamburi is working with other stakeholders, including the Ministry of Roads, on this. The Kenya National Highways Authority has been commissioned to come up with a design. We are waiting for that to take the next step.”

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Price challenge. Something is not right at Fairmatt Supermarket, Ongata Rongai, says Charles K. Mwangi, keen to get an assurance from management that there is no trick being played by some of their staff. He adds: “The price indicated on the items changes to a higher value once scanned at the till. On April 11, I picked up a Nivea petroleum jelly can with a price tag of Sh59. On scanning it, the price became Sh63. And this is not the first time this has happened to me.” His contact is ckmwangi33@gmail.com.

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Account errors. The Higher Education Loans Board needs to up its game, says Jane N. Gichuki, disturbed about errors in the handling of borrowers’ accounts. “I cleared my loan with a single cheque and was issued with certificate in 2008, only to be informed last year about a balance. I wrote to them twice but got no reply. After several visits to their offices, they promised to give me a final statement. Two months later, I got a statement excluding the amounts I had paid. It’s quite frustrating.” Her contact is janmuu@yahoo.com.

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Worrying trend. The latest incident in which a policeman shot his senior dead and then turned the gun on himself calls for a serious investigation to establish the cause of the rage in the force that appears to be on the rise, urges Ruth Muhiuha. She adds: “Yet another murder has been committed by a policeman, who then committed suicide in Nairobi. What kind of officers are we hiring these days and are there psychologists to counsel them to curb this disturbing trend?” Her contact is ruthmuhiuha@yahoo.com.

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Loyal fans. Agreeing with Jairus Musumba, apparently a diehard Manchester United follower, that he and other Arsenal fans are, indeed, closet masochists, Tony Gee says one thing they have in abundance is loyalty. He adds: “Not for us the switch-hitting fickleness of others. I refer to those who support Man U this week and Chelsea next week, depending on who is at the top. But a record we do hold is never being out of the top division. Keep your Man U hooligans while I wallow in the pain of backing the Gunners.”

Have a painless day, won’t you!

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