New technology must boost poll efficiency

The Interim Independent Electoral Commission deserves commendation for embracing electoral reforms as recommended by the Justice Johann Kriegler Commission on post-election violence by the launch of electronic vote registration.

However, full electoral reforms are highly needed to avoid ugly scenes we witnessed after the bungled 2007 presidential election.

By adapting technology in electoral system, Kenya will join the league of leading democracies.

It would ease handling of elections and improve efficiency of the process.

The electronic voter registration launched on Monday, which will capture more details such as a voter’s picture, thumbprint, and other critical data is a milestone in electoral reforms.

Automated system will solve some challenges faced in ensuring free and fair elections such as double registration, impersonation of the dead, deletion of names in the voter register, and double voting.

Though electronic voting may be costly, the Government cannot afford to ignore it.

And even if it may not be possible to implement it during the forthcoming referendum on the Proposed Constitution, it must the ultimate goal for the Government as we approach the 2012 General Election in 2012.

Zipporah Mueni, Nairobi.

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The new system will make registration faster and accurate.

It makes it possible for the electoral body to meet its target of registering 10 million voters before the referendum.

However, to make it more effective, let this system of registration be used even in rural areas. This is a bold step that the IIEC has taken.

Terry Muvai, Nairobi.

There is more than meets the eye in illicit brew trade

Soon after the incident in Nairobi’s Shauri Moyo estate where ten residents died after consuming a local brew, many opinions have been raised on how to tackle the problem.

Granted, many people have lost lives to illicit brews and last week’s tragedy only added to the grim statistics. Thus more needs to be done to change the trend.

But some of the solutions being offered, such as closing brewing and drinking dens, won’t help much. The law of supply and demand tells us that where there is a demand there will always be a supply. We need to address the real cause to the problems facing alcohol addicts.

Concerned Kenyan, Nairobi.

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For long the Government has been promising to ban illegal brews, or close down brewing dens, but nothing or too little has come out of the much tough talks. One wonders how many people must die for it to bring down the business of illicit brewing.

It is high time Kenyans pushed the Government to act fast and ensure the brews do not cause any more harm to innocent citizens.

Wanjiku Francis, Juja.

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The Government must deal with poverty and joblessness to win the war against illicit brews. Many Kenyans resort to local, unhealthy alcohol brands because they have no jobs or cannot afford expensive brands.

Philip Mumo, Kitui.

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I read corruption in Government’s commitment to handle the problem of illicit brews. Most officers entrusted with the duty of bringing down the business, take bribes from brewers and let it thrive. The Government should deal with such officers first.

Timothy Kwemoi, Marakwet.