THE CUTTING EDGE-26-5-2020

In Summary

RENT WOES: As the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic continue to bite, with a number of tenants, including those who genuinely can't pay rent, causing a lot of annoyance to the landlords. To ensure that they pay up, some landlords and agents are devising ways to fix defaulters, as Janet Mwariama has found out. At Kikuyu, in Kiambu County, one landlord has disconnected water and electricity to an apartment block. This, she finds rather callous in these Covid-19 crisis days. “The tenants have been pleading, in vain, with the landlord, who is insisting on full rent payment, having instructed his agent to effect the disconnections.” For the details, Janet's contact is jmwariama@aol.com.

***

M-PESA REVERSAL: On May 23, Elizabeth Owuor-Oyugi mistakenly sent Sh2,000 to a wrong number and, on realising her mistake and despite pressing the cancel button, the transfer still went through. She then forwarded the message to M-Pesa for a reversal. Four hours later, Elizabeth was told that the recipient had cancelled her request and that they would contact her later. She is still waiting. She wonders what is wrong with the service. “How can the decision be the discretion of the wrongful recipient? And what purpose does the ‘cancel’ button serve?” Her contact is nyarowuor@gmail.com.

***

POOR SIGNAL: David Mwangi is not amused at the poor Safaricom network signal causing him a lot of frustrations at his home in the Jacaranda Court of Mushrooms Estate, just off Kiambu Road. The estate is situated across the river from the Thindigwa area and Windsor Hotel is on the northwestern outskirts of Nairobi. This is an area where one would have expected Safaricom to give its very best, considering its proximity to the city and the huge potential in terms of users of both the voice and data services. “The area is long overdue for a network booster. Please give us better network coverage and bring some home fibre, too, and we’ll gladly pay for it.” His contact is david.mck.dm@gmail.com.

***

ROAD OR RAIL? Some things simply do not make sense — such as the transportation of railway wagons by road all the way from Mombasa to Nanyuki Railway Station, which Joseph Macharia witnessed recently. “What was the logic behind incurring the huge cost?” Even as he welcomes the arrival of the rolling stock for use on the newly rehabilitated Nanyuki-Nairobi railway line, Joseph hopes Transport CS James Macharia will urgently look into this apparent wastefulness at a time when every single coin counts because of the Covid-19 crisis. His contact is machariajoseph82@gmail.com.

***

IDLE SKILLS: As the country fights the Covid-19 pandemic, Haron Aluku says that nothing should be left to chance. He is, therefore, surprised to note that the Ministry of Health does not appear keen to recruit all the trained public health workers. Haron, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in public health, has not been able to find a job since he graduated in 2017. He is not amused that the door remains shut for him, and yet diploma certificate holders are being hired. “This is unfair. We should all be interviewed and jobs given to the best candidates from public health workers to nurses, and clinical officers. Can the ministry ensure fairness in recruitment?” His contact is alukuharon@gmail.com.

***

KILLING NATURE: Bosco Gicheo is faulting the putting up of skyscrapers in Nairobi while disregarding tree planting. “Our architects, planners and engineers seem to have little regard for nature,” Bosco laments. The beautiful trees that adorned the Upper Hill area 10 years ago are no more. “The reconstruction and expansion of Waiyaki Way saw the felling of trees, as also happened to the beautiful Jacaranda trees that once welcomed visitors to Nakuru. On Mombasa Road, trees are giving way to the planned overpass to Westlands from the JKIA.” His contact is bgicheo@yahoo.com.

Have a beautiful day, won’t you!