The Cutting Edge

By THE WATCHMAN
Posted  Monday, July 25  2011 at  17:43

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MONITOR THE CROOKS. Some wayward Kenya Revenue Authority officers accompanied by armed policemen are extorting money from motorists driving foreign-registered vehicles, says Franko Mtizedi. “They claim the only person allowed to drive such a vehicle is the one whose name appears on the temporary importation permit. My wife works in Tanzania. They found me driving her car and tried to extort money from me.” Franko has the registration numbers of their two vehicles. His contact is fmtizedi@yahoo.com.

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YET ANOTHER GANG. Austin Juma, another motorist who fell prey to the crooks on Saturday afternoon as he drove past the GM plant off Mombasa Road, says he got suspicious on noting the registration number of the van they were using was old, a KWA xxx series. “I was in doubt, but seeing them accompanied by police officers armed with rifles convinced me they could be genuine. But they seemed more interested in negotiating a bribe than impounding my vehicle. Who will stop these extortionists?” he asks.

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IRRIGATION THE KEY. What a pity! remarks S.K. Chege on the country’s inability to feed its people after nearly 50 years of Independence. While Kenya has good weather all year round, those from whom we expect aid can only grow food during only six months a year, after enduring winter. “Why not harvest water from Athi River and Lake Victoria for irrigation? Between Kînûngi and Naivasha, one only sees dry land and after that, some good green on the Delamere Farms. We can’t beg for food all our lives. Irrigation is the answer.”

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NOW FIX THE ROAD. With the planned building of a modern railway terminus on Mombasa Road, Henry Onyango says the Syokimau residential area is back in the news. The new project, he adds, is a great opportunity to finally fix the dilapidated Mombasa-Syokimau Road. “We have for many years endured the dust, and gaping holes. Sometimes the murram gets fixed but this hardly lasts three days. I hope the Kenya Urban Roads Authority and Mavoko Municipal Council are listening?”

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DANGEROUS ANTICS. Though it is all right for activists protesting against the various injustices and official wrongdoing to stage demonstrations in the streets to pass messages to the authorities, there must be a limit to some of their activities, says Peter Wandabwa. The least one would expect from such people, Wandabwa adds, is to “show some respect for courts and law and order, which guarantee the same freedom they purport to be fighting for. They must not engage in stupid and dangerous antics.”

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CHANGE LEADERSHIP, NOT NAME. A change of name alone won’t improve the performance of the national soccer team, says James Move. The root cause of the team’s dismal showing in recent times is ineffective administration. According to him, the soccer fraternity has a great opportunity in the forthcoming elections to pick the best team to run the popular sport. “Even if you give the team a new name under poor leadership, nothing will change,” he warns.

Have the right day, won’t you!