The cutting edge

By THE WATCHMAN
Posted  Sunday, May 22 2011 at 17:06

SERIOUSLY ILL CON-MEN. Some of the “seriously ill” people, whose handlers solicit funds in Nairobi’s streets, are being used by the con men to defraud the public, warns Town Clerk Philip Kisia. “I agree with Stephen Kathurima’s concern. Our investigations have revealed that some of the supposed patients are crooks out to cheat the public out of their money,” says Kisia, adding: “The council has put in place mechanisms to ensure that they are removed from the streets. I wish to appeal to residents to desist from giving them money.”

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POLLUTION HAZARD. The City Council has heard the cry of Ruth Moraa about a minibus plying the Lang’ata route, which has been polluting the environment with excessive smoke from its exhaust pipe and will soon track it down. Town Clerk Kisia says the council is, just like Moraa, also concerned about air pollution. “We will ensure that this minibus, in its present state, does not continue to operate on our roads with its excessive emissions, which are a health hazard to the residents. This and many others will be removed from the road.”

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FAULT FIXED. Telkom Kenya apologises to Piety De Souza of Kilimani, Nairobi, for the inconvenience suffered for three months when her landline, No. 3869504, was out of order. Angela Ng’ang’a-Mumo, the head of corporate communications, says there was a cable-wiring problem in her premises, which has since been fixed. “We wish to remind our customers to report faults to customer care on No. 100 from the Orange network or Tel 2221000. They will get a reference to enable us track for repairs and feedback.”

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EFFICIENT SERVICE. National Bank has investigated and taken action on Eric Ayienga’s complaint about being turned away when he tried to bank a folded cheque at the Wilson Airport branch, says corporate affairs manager Rebecca Gikuru, adding: “We take customers’ complaints very seriously. We have also spoken to Mr Ayienga and the matter has been sorted out amicably. We wish to assure all of commitment to providing efficient services across all our branches.” The contact is corporateaffairs@nationalbank.co.ke.

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PLEASANT. A Ugandan living in Kenya, John Luke Tambiti, expected the worst when he recently called at CID headquarters on Kiambu Road, Nairobi, “having gotten used to rude policemen and often being called nyangau”, but got a pleasant surprise instead. Says he: “I had expected nothing less than mistreatment. But how wrong I was. The officers turned out to be quite friendly and courteous right from the main reception to Room 31 and finally to the Principal Criminal Registrar. Kudos to the CID!” His contact is tambiti@gmail.com.

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DANCING SPOON. On the issue of the Lingala dancing ATM robot and Barclays Bank account holders, John Wachira, differing totally with Caleb Okumu, says this is the best confirmation that music is a universal language. He adds: “Though I support the use of local musicians and lyrics, the Barclays ATM commercial is so well crafted and rehearsed that it catches attention. TV commercials are all about catching the eye and passing the message. And by the way, I am really missing it, as it leaves the spoon in my hand dancing!”

Have a danceable day, won’t you!