By Michael Oriedo
Mr Kambi, are women childbearing machines?
In other parts of the world, when Government officials make pronouncements or engage in actions that contravene State policies, they resign.
The Government cannot serve the public well if its officials dismiss policies they are to implement. But this is Kenya, a land where senior Government employees seemingly have little regard for State policies or structures. One, therefore, would expect Medical Services Assistant Minister Kazungu Kambi to get away with urging women to ignore family planning services and give birth to as many children as they wish. Kambi told his constituents he has used CDF money to build health facilities that have maternity wings, which must be utilised.
The only way the facilities can be maximised, according to the minister, is by women having unplanned births. PointBlank believes it is scandalous for such a statement to come from a minister in-charge of the health docket, which ironically is the custodian of family planning services. Does it mean the minister thinks women are birth machines? Such remarks point out that Kenya’s efforts to reduce its population are doomed.
Switch off that engine at your own peril
Prices of fuel have dropped, therefore Mombasa resident Justin Osey hopes some drivers will stop the nauseating habit of switching off vehicles’ engines to save fuel.
“This happens mostly when driving down a slope. The culprits are mainly truck drivers. They switch off engines and let the heavy trucks move on gravity,” he observes. This practice, according to Osey, endangers lives of road users and experience has shown it ends tragically. “I warn them, switching off the engine can lock the steering wheel making the vehicle uncontrollable,” he notes.
And still on fuel matters, Osey has no kind words for oil marketers who have declined to reduce cost of fuel after Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) cut pump prices on Saturday.
“Some are claiming they are still selling old stock yet ERC asked them to reduce prices. This is selfish and is meant to hurt consumers who are burdened by high cost of living,” he laments.
Osey asks ERC to crack the whip for the sake of Kenyans since most oil marketers push up prices as soon as the regulator reviews fuel prices upwards.
Harambee estate’s unending thirst
For residents of Harambee Sacco Estate in Nairobi, notes Mr Argwings Owiti, the search for water has become a thirsty task.
Owito claims they have not had water for about two months now, yet Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) has not come to their rescue.
“Who will bring the water agony of Harambee Sacco Estate residents to an end? The suffering is unbearable,” he cries.
Owiti observes desperate residents have been forced to rely on water vendors, who get water from suspect sources.
“The vendors have camped in the estate milking residents. Our efforts to get help from NCWSC Kayole office have been futile,” narrates Owiti, who pleads with NCWSC CEO Philip Gichuki to rescue them.
In the same breath, Ruth Muhiuha from Garden Estate has a bone to pick with Athi Water Services Board. She narrates the institution recently contracted a firm to put up a sewer line in the estate, running across Thome River drive.
“The contractor finished the work but left the road in deplorable state,” she says.
Muhiuha believes the board should compel the contractor to reconstruct the road to end residents’ agony.
Egerton student seeks caution money
After finishing his studies at Egerton University in May, Rogers K’Owino had banked on his caution money to help him ‘tarmack’.
K’Owino, who says he is in ‘tatters’, notes the university has not kept its promise to wire the money into their bank account. “The university’s student finance department promised to deposit the money in our accounts, but to date nothing has happened,” he observes.
K’Owino, who expected the process will be faster than previous years, does not want to believe the money will not come soon. He asks Vice-Chancellor James Tuitoek to assist.
DON’T YOU FORGET
Did Kura ‘whip’ Unep area road contractor?
Mr Hanningtone Ouma wrote to PointBlank on June 4 noting a contractor repairing Limuru Road, from Unep area to Ndenderu Shopping Centre was doing shoddy work.
“This work started way before the beginning of the long-rains season in April. To date, nothing constructive has happened. The result is that the road is pathetic since some sections that were repaired are already filled with pot holes,” he said. Ouma added the contractor had dug up sections of the road, filled up some holes and left others. “The contractor is digging up the road leaving it worse than he found it,” he concluded. Ouma wanted Kenya Urban Roads Authority to intervene.
