The Cutting Edge

By THE WATCHMAN
Posted  Saturday, June 4 2011 at 17:45

MUTUTHO ALCOHOL LAW: Just over six months since the Mututho alcohol law came into effect, K.M. Kioko says, there is a need for an update on the gains. Nacada, he adds, should give a report to the public on the importance of the legislation that strictly limits bar opening and closing times. He would particularly like to know whether central Kenya, where there was an outcry over drunkenness and its contribution to low birth rates, is now expecting a baby boom. However, Kioko is alarmed at the proliferation of deadly illicit brews.

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ROADS IN SORRY STATE: Roads in Nairobi West have been wrecked by a combination of rainwater and heavy trucks delivering building materials to a nearby construction site, moans Lewis Mwenda. A billboard, he adds, was put up in March, promising rehabilitation but nothing has happened. “The revenue generated from businesses in the area is immense. After all, it took the residents of the road behind the ICC Church exactly one month to get it all cemented. Shame on you, City Hall!” His contact is aritho@yahoo.com

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SAFARICOM MAGIC: Ken Valdez Ochieng returned home on May 30 after a year overseas, bought a Safaricom scratch card and tried to top up his number, in vain. On contacting Customer Care, he was advised that his number had been recalled for reallocation because it had been dormant for too long. Keen to get back his number, Valdez went to Safaricom’s I&M offices and a young man called Livingstone did the magic. Says an elated Valdez: “I’m so grateful because I’ve been travelling out of the country and back for 10 years and have retained the number.”

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CALLING TELKOM ORANGE: Telkom Orange has great data service which, Paul M. Sumba says, is the “most affordable and reliable Internet service’’. But when he tried out their voice service, he found that there was something wrong with the billing. “Whereas they claim that it is per second billing, I found that it is not. Even the promotion where you get 50 per cent bonus when you top up doesn’t work. Unless Orange styles up, I will soon be looking elsewhere,” says Paul, whose number is 0773418414. He can also be reached through paul.sumba@gmail.com.

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POLICE HARASSMENT: Kahawa West resident Jared Ojwang, who criticised police for preferring to man roadblocks that are actually just “ATMs” for them, instead of stepping up patrols, wishes to clarify that he has not lost his pick-up vehicle to hijackers. Says he: “What I meant is that police have been harassing motorists at the roadblock at the junction of the Kamiti and Kiambu roads, more so, those driving matatus, lorries or even brand-new pick-ups like mine.” He’d like police boss Mathew Iteere to ensure that his officers “do some more useful work’’.

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HOSTILE WEATHER: The last time Ukambani had a splendid harvest was during the destructive El Nino rains of some years back, notes Patrick Kimulu, agonising about the plight of the people in their daily struggle to get food and water. Writing from his base in Australia, Patrick says it would be better to acknowledge that Ukambani is typically desert and get agricultural experts to appropriately advise the locals on better ways of survival, as crop production has failed. “The NGOs should be required to establish offices in the hardship zones instead of operating from Nairobi.” His contact is muemasyl@yahoo.com.

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HELP CATCH THIEVES: After the 15th robbery at Gem Villas in the Karen suburb of Nairobi in a four-week period, Cheryl Sonnichsen says she would have expected everybody to help nail the culprits. But she is surprised by the apparent reluctance to assist the police to get to the bottom of the thefts. Absolutely essential, she says, is the footage captured on the 24-hour CCTV. “The landlord has authorised release of the footage to the police but this has not happened. Why can’t those concerned help arrest the thieves?” asks Cheryl. Her contact is bogani@wananchi.com.

Have a secure day, won’t you!