About three days have passed since South Sudan nationals drunk wine, gave each other high-fives, danced, shed tears, and shouted themselves horse as they marked their country’s first birthday.
It is nice to add a year to one’s life, and it is even nicer if the birthday guarantees more freedom and rights. To Kenya, South Sudan having added a year to its age is a great milestone. This is a baby Kenya ‘sired’ and seeing it crawl and attempt to utter the word mama or papa brings a lot of joy. But children are known to ape many things from their parents. They will imitate what their parents say and do, whether it is good or bad.
South Sudan may thus behave like many other normal children and copy many things from Kenya, among them tribalism, corruption, nepotism and one-big man syndrome.
Reports have indicated that these vices, which have weakened Kenya, are taking root in the fledging nation. Soon, PointBlank will hear some officials of the nation are hiding billions of shillings in foreign accounts. South Sudan should work faster to eliminate these vices. They do not need to take this horrendous path, even if Kenya is her father.
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Unpaid taxes taxing matatu driver’s heart
Naomba serikali itusaidie (The government should help us) is a phrase that matatu driver Nderitu does not want to associate with.
Instead, Nderitu says he wants to “kusaidia serikali” (help Government) raise revenue. The driver believes Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has ignored the PSV sector when it comes to paying taxes.
“We register with KRA and we have documents, which show that we should be on permanent employment thus pay income tax, remit monies to National Health Insurance Fund and National Social Security Fund, but this is not what is happening,” he notes.
Paying tax to KRA, Nderitu believes, will not only help raise Government revenue but also eliminate corruption on roads.
“Police collect bribes, a minimum of Sh500 daily (which they call tax) from matatu operators because they know we do not pay tax. This is something they tell us now and then,” he claims.
Nderitu blames the state-of-affairs in the key sector to failure to implement ‘Michuki rules’ fully. He observes, as KRA goes for landlords, time is ripe for matatu operators to pay taxes.
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Thika matatu operators’ lost cause
Nairobi resident G Wanyoike is ecstatic something pleasant is happening in Thika. A new bus company known as Kenya Mpya has opened shop in the town.
The company is operating bigger buses, which have effectively brought fares down from Sh150 to Sh70. However, operators of 14-seater matatus are not happy. On Monday, they paralysed transport along the key route demanding that the buses be withdrawn, ‘so that they can continue fleecing Kenyans’, observes Wanyoike.
“What the operators need to understand is that Thika highway was constructed to ease transport by eradicating traffic jams, consequently fares must go down,” he notes. Wanyoike, who believes the buses are Godsend, observes seamless traffic flow on the highway has not been a motivation for matatu operators to lower fares.
Instead of blocking the buses, Wanyoike advises the operators either to sell their vehicles and buy buses or convince their MP William Kabogo, who led the protest, to push the Government to stop building good roads.
“The operators should understand the effects of a liberalised market are here with us and they will outlive them. They cannot stop a tsunami, an idea whose time has come,” he concludes.
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Superhighway’s signs of confusion
Hawk-eyed advocate Gitau Gachiengo believes there is something wrong with those erecting signs along Thika road.
He observes that some of the signs and markings are confusing motorists and pedestrians. A case in point are those placed along sections nearing overpasses and underpasses. “I do not understand the logic of erecting a ‘no overtaking symbol’ at the start of an underpass, but then go ahead and mark on the road broken lines, which mean you can overtake,” he notes. “This is a case of the right hand not knowing what the left is doing,” he adds.
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DON’T YOU FORGET
Did Concord Insurance put Audi back on the road?
Mr Allan Audi wrote to PointBlank on June 28 noting that his car (Toyota Corolla) was involved in a crash last year. Fortunately, he had taken a comprehensive insurance cover with Concord Insurance. The insurance firm promised that it would pay Sh370,000 after deducting Sh15,000 ‘excess’. But Audi said the company was yet to compensate him. “I can’t even recall the number of trips I have made to Concord offices.” Audi added he had reported the matter to Insurance Regulatory Authority but nothing was forthcoming. The company, he noted, at one time made a commitment that the compensation would be made without fail by June 18, but the date passed. What surprised Audi is that his Toyota was salvaged and sold off in October last year and is back on the road, with a new owner. Did Concord put Audi back on the road?
