Palaver: 30/12/10

Residents of a hamlet in Baringo deserve Palaver's plaudits. With drinking venues and hours now regulated, they have found an ingenious way to beat the long arm of the law; using nature and technology to great effect. When a group of friends wish to share a drink and make merry, they identify open ground within one of their homesteads with a clear view as far as the eye can stretch. This allows them to drink while keeping watch, rather like the Meerkats of the Kalahari who eat while standing on tiptoe to spot eagles and other dangers. Lookouts at the nearest petrol station will inform them if the local cops are on the prowl (police vehicles rarely have fuel and so must fill up before hitting the road) and their general direction will be relayed to the drinkers via mobile phone. If they are spotted, there is enough time to scatter, leaving behind the grandmother and children, much to the chagrin of the police officers!The Economic Survey released on Tuesday is a joke to most Kenyans. Government must be held to account for the manner in which it throws figures around. So 500,000 jobs were created last year? Where are these jobs, and why is the number of idle youth in marketplaces, shopping centres and towns constant? Truth is most of the jobs were temporary, barely lasting a month before the people were back on the street. As Planning Minister Wycliffe Oparanya and his Finance counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta toy with figures for the June Budget, grinding joblessness and poverty imply it is all hot air.
Once again, House Speaker Kenneth Marende has sidestepped the petty squabbles raging between PNU and ODM in Parliament and ensured implementation of the new laws is not sabotaged. He did the right thing as the Justice and Legal Committee has been paralysed by the ‘No’ and ‘Watermelon’ brigades who opposed the new laws in last year’s referendum. Well done again, Kenneth!
And finally...
Airtel cheekily announced they had hired Mr John Barorot who spearheaded development of Safaricom’s cellular network rollout, just as their bitter rivals revealed their profit fell by some Sh2.7 billion last year; largely due to a price war in the voice market unleashed by (you guessed right) Airtel. Ouch!!
Editorial@standardmedia co.ke