Regional Development Minister Fred Gumo has been a tormented man of late. There is this bunch of monkeys in his leafy Muthaiga neighbourhood that has been denying him and his neighbours peace of mind.
A case in point is when Gumo’s wife called him for lunch one Saturday only to walk in and find an uninvited guest — a monkey on the table — ready for the meal.
“I don’t think anyone wants to see monkeys, I don’t think tourists come here to see monkeys,” says the acting Local Government minister. Any wonder Gumo wants all monkeys in the city exterminated?
Conglomerate
Incredibly, there are people who likes monkeys and one them advised Gumo on KTN “to go live where monkeys don’t exist”. Just in case you are interested, mheshimiwa, not even a one monkey exists in Mukuru.
But it is not totally possible to run away from monkey business. Gumo has another headache, which he insists is also a product of monkey business and it has got former president Moi’s car in the mix. Looks like this monkey business is a conglomerate.
Mololine’s extraneous charges
How many ‘fares’ do Mololine customers usually pay? It depends on circumstances, according to S Kanyinya who was forced to pay twice while travelling to Kisumu from Nakuru on August 9, 2012 .
Mr Kanyinya first paid what he thought was full fare— Sh600—at Mololine’s Nakuru office. The journey begun and went on smoothly until they reached the Mau Summit—Kericho diversion.
“Here, the driver parked his vehicle and calmly asked every passenger to donate Sh15 (a total of Sh210) so that he could pay the security officers to use the closed road still under construction to avoid the diversion. Everyone donated.”
Kanyinya would like the management of Mololine to inform him whether it is an acceptable practice for their drivers to collect other fees from passengers who have already paid their fares in full.
“If the money is to be used to ply this road, who should pay? Methinks it’s the driver or Mololine because they will be saving on fuel and time for another trip back to Nakuru.”
Kanyinya can be contacted on 0720073272.
Recommended ‘operations’ for CCN
The manner in which the City Council of Nairobi has gone about claiming unpaid rates with gusto and threats cannot go unnoticed, according to Eliud Akanga.
The council, suggests Mr Akanga should extend the same enthusiasm in delivering services to city residents to justify “the noise and commotion it has made while collecting rates” in its blood-cuddling “Operation Clamp Down” campaign.
Akanga expects CCN to, with the same zeal and with the monies collected so far, initiate ‘operations’ that can lift the spirits of residents.
Such should include, “Operation clean up Eastlands”, “Operation purge corrupt and ghost City Hall workers” and “Operation light up the city”, among others
Darkness
As a starting point, Akanga would like the council to erect street lamps on Mumias South Road between Buruburu Phase 1 Primary School and Outering shops junction, which he says have been faulty for over four months.
“This stretch, the epitome of darkness, poses real safety and security risks for rate payers at night,” he says. Is Nairobi mayor George Aladwa listening?
