The cutting edge

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By THE WATCHMAN
Posted  Tuesday, September 4  2012 at  19:48

IN SUMMARY

• Agreeing with the condemnation of South Africa for using the repugnant Law of Common Purpose against the miners recently charged with the murder of their colleagues, Tony Gee says it would be like charging the post-election violence victims with the murder of the 1,133 people.
• When will the Higher Education Loans Board put its house in order? asks Esther Oyugi appalled at the poor record keeping. She graduated in 2000 from Moi University and began repaying her loan in May 2003 until December 2005.
• The suffering of boxer Conjestina Achieng, who sometime back earned the admiration of many Kenyans due to her prowess, is an indictment of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, remarks Sam Oresi.

PUZZLING MATHS. The maths of construction, especially that involving huge public projects, can be quite baffling as Michael Mwaura has found out. Mwaura, no doubt, one of the Kenyans thrilled by the building of the magnificent 42-kilometre Thika Superhighway got interested to know just how much it cost – Sh30 billion. He can’t, therefore, understand why a “mere 17km” of the proposed Mombasa bypass should cost Sh25 billion. “Can the Kenya National Highways Authority explain this one?” asks Michael. His contact is kimsonmichael66@yahoo.com.

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LAWS RIDICULOUS. Agreeing with the condemnation of South Africa for using the repugnant Law of Common Purpose against the miners recently charged with the murder of their colleagues, Tony Gee says it would be like charging the post-election violence victims with the murder of the 1,133 people. But he also says such ridiculous laws are still applicable in Kenya. A good example is the law against rain water harvesting in Nairobi and the one that requires all buildings in Mombasa to be painted white.

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SHAPE UP, HELB. When will the Higher Education Loans Board put its house in order? asks Esther Oyugi appalled at the poor record keeping. She graduated in 2000 from Moi University and began repaying her loan in May 2003 until December 2005. In 2006, she didn’t pay anything as she was out of a job. But by September 2010 she had cleared her loan. She was, therefore, shocked to receive an email message in May this year demanding Sh35,715, and a few days later, Sh5,261. Her contact is esther.oyugi@yahoo.com.

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IT'S A CRYING SHAME. The suffering of boxer Conjestina Achieng, who sometime back earned the admiration of many Kenyans due to her prowess, is an indictment of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, remarks Sam Oresi. A recent report on Conje shocked Oresi. Says he: “It is a crying shame, considering that not long ago, many of us used to cheer her as she won her bouts. Up-and-coming sportspeople will definitely be discouraged. Let’s do something to save face,” urges Oresi.

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GIVE US A BREAK, MULTICHOICE. Though the Kenya shilling has been gaining steadily against the US dollar and now exchanges at 84 to 1, Joseph Mwangi is disappointed that Multichoice is not passing on the benefit to its loyal subscribers by lowering the monthly payment for the DStv service. Multichoice, he moans, has retained the rate of Sh86 to the dollar over the past three months, enjoying the Sh2 difference. “This is not fair,” says Joseph, whose contact is joseph.mwangi1968@gmail.com.

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VEHICLES OF IMPUNITY. Do matatus pay an extra road tax? asks Saroj Patel, terribly annoyed about the perennial mayhem on James Gichuru Road in Nairobi. “The drivers can park, turn and stop whenever and wherever they wish. Traffic police will be standing over there and they don’t bother with them, but they will stop cars for no valid reason. On this very busy road, matatus just park anywhere and make u-turns all the time, causing accidents. Now, they also park on both sides of the road.”

Have a rational day, won’t you!