By Njoroge Kinuthia
Why retirement is death sentence for public servants
Ever wondered why most civil servants shudder at the mention of the word retirement? Well, wonder no more. Retirement for them, according to a former Ministry of Education employee Mr William Otongo Obuba is tantamount to being put on death row.
Otongo, 65, says many retirees don’t live long after retirement due to ‘stress’ as the pension they get is hardly enough to last a week. Majority of them, he reveals, earn between Sh2,500-Sh5,000 per month. Obuba, who retired at job group N is lucky as he earns Sh13,000, but he says this is still peanuts.
taught Kajwang
He laments that has been ‘stagnant’ for a long time and wonders why the Government has forgotten about people who worked hard to build this country. “We have been forgotten just like the freedom fighters.
Does Government think all of us are dead?” Obuba who claims to have taught Cabinet minister Otieno Kajwang “all the English that he speaks” wants MPs to spare a thought for the suffering pensioners. According to him, pensioners should earn between Sh25,00-Sh30,000 monthly.
Why Mogoon is at mercy of goons
Safaricom risks losing hundreds of customers at Mogoon along Ziwa-Moi’s Bridge Road in Eldoret due to its failure to improve the quality of signal in the area. Karen Chepkoech claims that most mobile phone users in the area, including 600 workers at a local flower farm, “belong to Safaricom” but are completely frustrated by its poor and at times unavailable network.
Unfortunately for them, there is nowhere to run to as no other mobile service is available in the area. Meanwhile, criminals, aware that locals can’t call for help, have established a ‘strong network’ to give residents sleepless nights. Ms Chepkoech appeals to any willing mobile firm to come to Mogoon’s rescue. Her email is karenchebet2012@yahoo.com.
From Kerbut, Marakwet East Constituency, Francis Kipsok reports that the recently erected Airtel mast hasn’t boosted mobile communication. The network, he says, at times is unavailable even for a week. This is usually blamed on power shortage. He wonders how this can happen while the power line is only a few metres from the mast. He can be reached at fkipsok@yahoo.com.
KP runs out of ‘lighting materials’
Writing from Busia, Mr Canan W Mugeni says he has grown tired of Kenya Power’s excuse that his house cannot be supplied with electricity because the firm “has no materials to do so”.
Mugeni, who applied and paid Sh34,000 for the supply (E24602011100148) has been waiting for ten long months and all that KP asks of him whenever he enquires is ‘patience’.
Although patience is a virtue, Mr Mugeni feels he is being taken for a ride as he was never warned that the process would take this long.
“I am getting concerned because in one way or the other, the KPLC staff in Busia are very unco-operative and unwilling to assist.”
hurting consumers
He wants KP Managing Director, Mr Joseph Njoroge, to crack the whip and ensure that his house is lit up.
He can be reached at Canan.Mugeni@icao.unon.org.
Meanwhile, Mr Mo Dhillon is accusing the power company of insisting on “hurting consumers with highly inflated bills”.
Dhillon was slapped with bill Sh29,770 in May. The bill shot from Sh11,023 in April. “What justifies this increase?”
Is ‘barking man’
back at Fishpond?
A concerned Kisumu resident would like the management of Migingo Fishpond Hotel in Rongo to inform her about the condition of the man who was reportedly bitten by a rabid dog in February.
Our correspondent reports that the old man was taken to Rongo District Hospital “barking like a dog but was told that anti-rabies medicine had run out of stock”.
She wants to know whether the hospital finally managed to acquire the anti-rabbies drugs. She also wants to know whether the hospital and Fishpond Hotel made any further efforts to save the patient’s life.
DON’T YOU FORGET
Mr Duba, will this road in Ruai be done? Ever?
Several correspondents have written to PointBlank lamenting about the deplorable state of Sewage Road in Ruai, Nairobi. On April 30, for instance, a bitter resident Mr Dick Makembu revealed that the road which has now been replaced by ‘valleys and mountains’ had tarmack in 1990s but was ruined by a contractor during the expansion of City Council’s sewerage plant. He claimed that in 2003, residents were told that Latf had allocated Sh84m to pave the road but this never happened. “I’m not sure how many times funds were allocated and squandered, but I’m certain it’s been more than two election cycles,” he claimed. And he added: “The road typifies City Council’s ineptitude as it cannot maintain proper infrastructure even to its own key destinations”. What do you have to say about this Town Clerk Roba Duba, and when will this crucial road be done?
