Scrapping metal business will save our infrastructure

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero has finally done what should have been done long time ago. He has banned trade in scrap metal, a booming but very hurtful business.

Although there is fundamentally nothing wrong with the business, which supposedly encourages recycling, money-hungry vandals and businesspeople have been misbehaving by stripping the city of anything and everything metallic.

 In the process, road signs and guard rails have been stolen, electric cables stripped off, vehicles cannibalised and lamp posts uprooted. Trade in scrap metal has encouraged theft and thuggery. As a result, superhighways are not so super anymore, lighting is not assured and the vandals pockets keep bulging with ill-gotten money.

Sometimes, the consequences are tragic. Accidents, like the recent one along Mombasa Road where a motorist plunged to his death from a bridge whose side railings had been removed by the vandals, have become too common.

The other Governors should urgently emulate Dr Kidero. It’s time to consign this business to the dustbins of history.

When Nokia irked their Asha queen

For long, Hellen M has naively believed in the principle that customer is always king (in her case queen). But now she knows better: Customers may be kings and queens, but not always.

Six months ago, she bought a Nokia C2 at Nokia Care Centre Mid-Com Ltd on Kenyatta Avenue.

 Recently, however, it developed problems and she took it back for repair. She was informed  it would take three working days for the problem to be sorted out.

Instead of leaving the phone, she opted to buy a Nokia Asha 200, which she says looked more promising. However, after a few days, it also developed problems  and she returned it to the shop.

Hellen was told to pick it up after three days. Sadly, on the material day,  she was held up in traffic and strode into the shop like a queen at 5:30pm, not knowing that the shop closes at 5pm.

“When I asked the staff if they could give me the phone, they mumbled some gibberish and just walked away coldly,” she says.

She adds: “I took offence because I  bought two phones from the same centre and both have been giving me a headache. Her contact is [email protected].

Galled by slow service at Galleria

On June 2, Ms Wangari  Gathingi took her nine-month-old  son, who was whizzing  and constipated, to Nairobi Hospital’s Galleria Clinic hoping to get quick treatment.

She arrived at the hospital at 12.30pm, worried about her son’s condition just like any other good parent would be.

Unfortunately, Wangari was not able to see the doctor until 2pm, one-and-half hours since her arrival.

But this was a short time  compared to the wait ahead. “After seeing the doctor, I had to wait till 8pm for prescription. Meanwhile, my son’s temperature kept rising.” She finally left the hospital at 9pm.

“All this time, I kept enquiring what was happening. Later, I discovered the cause of the problem; only one doctor was available!”

As the condition of the baby did not improve, Wangari  took him to another hospital the next day. “The hospital took time to do blood tests which Galleria didn’t and my son was found to have a bout of pneumonia,   which required admission.”

She requests the hospital to send more doctors to Galleria to ensure many others do not go through such a bad experience in the future.  Her contact is [email protected].

DON’T YOU FORGET

TNA, does ‘4878’ still work for Nyanza?  

Aspirants for various seats in Luo Nyanza who vied on The National Alliance (TNA) ticket and supported President Uhuru Kenyatta were sidelined and sidestepped. This allegation was made by Charles Odhiambo Amenya here on May 17. Mr Amenya who contested for the Karachuonyo parliamentary seat claimed that those who vied for election on TNA tickets like him in Nyanza were discriminated against. Unlike aspirants in other parts of the country, Amenya alleged, candidates from this region were never given any campaign cash despite having paid the “heavy nomination fees”. The candidates had been asked to send details of their account and identification numbers, full names and positions that they were vying for to “4878” but were never sent the funds, he said. What’s the truth about these allegations, TNA?

Of Super Eagles,  deflated egos

During the recent Harambee Stars match against Nigeria’s Super Eagles, football fanatic Motari David was sanguine, and even boasted, that our boys would finally turn the tables on the Eagles. This, of course, did not happen and Motari and other fans who had sky-high hopes, were greatly demoralised. He now appears to have given up not only  on Harambee Stars but also on Kenyan football.

“With all due respect to our national team, why not just give up football altogether and direct our energies and resources where we have a comparative advantage; athletics, rugby or even javelin,” he advises.

Right of Reply
How naughty children, school heads punish helpless parents

It is true that school managements are unfair to parents (refer to yesterday’s PointBlank). Principals of secondary schools expel student but no fee refund is given to parents even if the child was in school for only two days or a month after opening. What happens to the fees, yet the student is no longer in school? This happened to me in Ikawa secondary in Meru and Abothugushi secondary and Kirige secondary school all in Meru.

I transferred my son to Ikawa but after two days, he felt that he didn’t like being in a mixed school. I talked to the principal about the refund but he said no refund would be given. The boy went to Abothugushi where he was expelled after a month. Still no refund. My other son was at Kirige and was also expelled after one month in school. After the school reopened, no refund was given as well.

Children have become naughty and the schools must deal with them.

But Prof Jacob Kaimenyi,  Cabinet Secretary, Education,  what happens to the school fees that the child has hardly used since according to these principals its non-refundable?

We, parents, are suffering financially under these circumstances since schools no longer accept students without full school fees. After payment,  they misbehave and they are sent home and we have to find another school for them.

I have paid Sh38,000 to these  schools and have not been given any refund. My boys are at home and I have no money to send  them to another school.

Since I had paid full amount of fees to both schools this term,   and I had paid full fees to Ikawa last term, please advise me and other parents who might be in the same situation.

Mary Wanjiru,

[email protected]

*****

Caning is still rampant despite being banned. I am a former parent of Mudasa Academy in Majengo in Vihiga County. I would like to bring to the attention of the Ministry of Education the sad fact that this punishment is so rampant in the school that many parents have withdrawn their children.

I was forced to remove my child from the school after it became apparent that caning was the order of the day and my child had become totally withdrawn. The ministry should probe what is going on in the school and take action.

Parent