Molly Otieno gives us food for thought and stomach

Unless you are a resident of Mathare slum, I can bet that you have never heard about Molly Otieno. But you should have, for Molly is now a celeb  not only in  Mathare, but also internationally.

The 13-year-old was catapulted to fame by a small video camera that she received  from the World Food Programme,  which she used to record day to day life in Mathare. The video found its way to YouTube and  CNN. Later her story was on pages of some of the world’s leading newspapers.

Her story, according to the Huffington Post,  inspired supporters to raise more than 50,000 school meals for poor students around the world. Molly is also a beneficiary of  WFP school feeding programme.

Lessons from her story? One:  That a plate of food can keep poor children in school and give them hope for future; if you have one to spare please remember the hungry child near you. Two: That we’ll continue depending on WFP and other donors to fill our bellies if we don’t adopt policies and mechanisms that can radically change our agriculture.

Why did Knec put teachers to test?

A teacher from Kopsiro in Bungoma is accusing the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) of sending teachers countrywide on a wild goose chase.  Last month, he says,  Knec asked teachers interested in supervising and invigilating  national examinations to submit their aplications through its website (www.knec.ac.ke/cp).  “Many teachers applied for the job hoping that this time Knec would be sincere and contact the qualified candidates,” he says.

This however didn’t happen according to the teacher who has requested anonymity. Those supervising and invigilating the ongoing exams, he says, “are the same”. 

“In my district, candidates were hand-picked, some never even filled the online forms. In my school, a primary school teacher who has been invigilating since 2007 is at it again this year.”

He adds: “To me, this raises the question of Knec’s integrity and transparency. Did Knec want to use teachers’ to create a database? Teachers spent a lot  of money in cyber cafes uploading the required details. Is this the best Knec can do to applicants?”

Police still stuck in dark ages

Although the Kenyan public is now in the 21st century, our police force is still living in the 10th century, according to  Malindi resident Phelix Gudah.   

Most of police posts, he notes, use a manual system that was very common in the early 1960s--one that involves a lot of  paper work.

“The OB desk is full of paperwork despite the fact that we are in computer age today,” Gudah says  and adds that most officers   confess that they know little about the new technology.

This, he says, is the reason    the police force rated poorly in terms of performance  “as the working environment does not favour positive rating”.

 “If transformation is what the police force is working on, policy makers should put much emphasis on the issue of computer literacy of the officers,” he admonishes.

INTERNET

He suggests that every police post in the country should be given at least four computers to help officers embrace e-policing. It will be good, Gudah adds, to keep police officers informed on security matters via the internet. “This will enable good cordination between the public and the officers, as communication will be instant,” he says.

 

DON’T YOU FORGET

Kibuye is still waiting for pension cheque   

On September 20, Mr Moses Kibuye wrote to PointBlank (Pension cheque that went back to sender) seeking answers from the Director of Pensions, Ministry of Finance, Ms Anne Mugo, on what became of his monthly pension arrears cheque. Kibuye (APN/PC 204720) said that cheque, number 715144 of January 22, 2009, was deposited in his bank account that had been closed and was returned by the bank in February of the same year to the Pensions Department. The Pensions Department replied his query (PointBlank, October 26, 2011).  Michael Obonyo, on behalf of Mugo, said Kibuye had not paid his money because of “missing details of returned pensions”. Kibuye visited his former bankers who confirmed returning his cheque and schedule to the Treasury. Ms Mugo did you end Kibuye’s suffering?

 

Wasting’ youths in Westlands

There is something that has irked Linda Change-Kamau and she would be happy if immediate action is taken to change the situation. The Managing Director of Women Against Alcohol laments that  under age drinking is rampant in Nairobi’s Westlands area where youths drink in cars outside petrol stations and clubs on the so called “Electric Avenue”. “I would like to know what companies like East Africa Breweries and National Authority for Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse are doing to curb the menace. Things have really gone  out of hand.” He contact is [email protected].

Right of Reply

DPP cares about witnesses, doesn’t reimburse expenses

This is in response to Dr Mawira Mate’s allegations that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions does not care much about State Witnesses titled, DPP’s ‘stinginess’ hurts Doctor (PointBlank October 21).

To put the record straight, it is important to stress that the DPP places a lot of importance on the role the witnesses for just, efficient, effective and successful completion of Criminal Prosecution. On issues addressed by the writer, it is significant primarily to note that the judiciary is and has always been responsible for the payment of civilian witness expenses consisting of travel and subsistence allowance.

 On the other hand, as general rule government officers are not entitled to such reimbursements by the court on the basis that while they are attending court they are considered to be on official duty hence the respective Department or Ministry is required to cater for the officer’s subsistence.

The Office of the DPP does not have a vote to cover such however it is part of the ODPP’s Strategic Plan to have such expenses factored in the budgetary allocations in the near future.

At the moment, the Judiciary, by court order, upon request by the prosecutor is supposed to reimburse the expenses.

We would therefore advice the doctor to seek any reimbursement from the employer and in this instance the Ministry of Health.

Kimani Macharia

Head, Public Communication

For: The Director of Public
Prosecutions

Fone Xpress: We’ve happy customer in Mr Ndegwa

On August 23 PointBlank highlighted the plight of Mr Julius Ndegwa who said his phone had not been serviced at Fone Xpress, West Gate Service Centre. Ndegwa presented his faulty Nokia Phone to Fone Xpress on  August 16.

In an email to Ndegwa, Fone Xpress, through Jane, a customer care agent, explained: “We had escalated your case to the local Nokia office for a solution. Unfortunately, this had not been forthcoming in a speedy manner, therefore our management decided to take matters into our very own hands, so as to resolve the matter conclusively to the benefit of you, our valued customer.” True to our word, we repaired the phone and Ndegwa picked it on August 18.

In a response email, Ndegwa wrote: “I want to assure you that Fone Xpress finally rectified whatever problem my phone had and I collected it from their West Gate Service Centre. Finally, I am a happy customer of Fone Xpress.”

Emily Manjeru,

Fone Xpress