THE CUTTING EDGE

Summary

• First, scrap the entrance charges levied on passenger drop-offs and pick-ups done in under 30 minutes.
• He simply cannot understand why some Kenyans should be so hysterical about the 22 lucky people who will occupy those positions.

SHAKY PROMISE: The raging controversy over the naming of new Cabinet secretaries confirms that a house built on quicksand (read ICC cases) cannot stand, states Pita Njoroge, alluding to what he describes as Deputy President William Ruto’s Waterloo. He adds: “Ruto is now where Raila Odinga was in 2003, and where Kalonzo Musyoka was after the 2013 elections. Politicians never keep promises. As Niccolo Machiavelli once stated, when the prince becomes the king, he must discard the kingmaker.” His contact is pita.njoroge16@gmail.com.

CABINET JOBS: Why is so much national attention being paid to the 22 jobs in the Cabinet? asks university don and dowry negotiator X. N. Iraki. He simply cannot understand why some Kenyans should be so hysterical about the 22 lucky people who will occupy those positions and not the millions of their other compatriots who are jobless “in the same way we are so concerned about the 142 As in the KCSE exam and not the thousands whose education dream has ended”. His contact is xniraki@gmail.com.

TAXING TASK: Urgently calling the Kenya Revenue Authority is taxpayer Ben Sumuni, whose civic obligation is being frustrated by an apparent hitch on the iTax platform, which, ironically, is meant to ease tax compliance. Since the beginning of the year, Ben has been experiencing difficulties as he tries to file his December 2017 Pay As You Earn (PAYE) returns. “After selecting the PAYE option, the date option permanently has the October 2017 dates. This makes it impossible to indicate the December dates,” he moans. His contact is sumuniben@gmail.com.

AIRPORT AMBIANCE: A visit to JKIA, Robin Maremma says, left a sour taste in his mouth. First, scrap the entrance charges levied on passenger drop-offs and pick-ups done in under 30 minutes, he pleads and adds: “Secondly, the arrivals terminal looks like a cow auction. No decent shelter is provided for arriving passengers and their welcoming parties and no information on the status of flights.” Thirdly, missing the turn to the new parking, as the signage and lighting are wanting, one has to exit the airport and pay again. His contact is tellussafaris@yahoo.com.

SCHOOL BUS RULE: The raft of guidelines by the Education ministry on the movement of school buses, though meant to ensure the safety of schoolchildren, are just not practical, says Ruth Gituma, taking issue especially with the 6am to 6pm timing. “We, for instance, have children who are picked up at 5.30am so that they get to school in good time due to the endemic traffic jams in Nairobi. A child going to school in Lavington from Thika Road, for example, will certainly arrive late, given the bus has to pick up other children en route....” Her contact is rgitum@gmail.com.

IMPUNITY ON WHEELS: On Saturday, January 6, while travelling along Garissa Road at 12.40pm, Rodney Barton reports, he came up behind a matatu (Reg. KCG 2...), which was following a police vehicle, Reg. GKB 3.... In the next 10 minutes, he noted that both vehicles exceeded 100kph on several occasions. Against the backdrop of the recent fatal road crashes, Rodney asks: “Why was the matatu allowed to travel at that speed about 10 metres behind a police vehicle when it had an 80kph sticker on the back?” For the details, Rodney’s contact is rrbarton2001@yahoo.com.

Have a responsible day, won’t you!