The People’s Champion April 16, 2014
Wild Wild West. Tara Suleiman did not empathise with hundreds of revellers who were mugged during Saturday’s concert by Jamaican Dancehall musician Konshens at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre. She faulted the organisers for charging a cheap entry fee that made it easy for all manner of people to access the grounds. She likened the night to a scene from the Wild Wild West movie, reminiscent of lawlessness.
Ms Suleiman added that it did not help matters that security guards did nothing as people were robbed and those who put up a fight, beaten up. “It was a den of thieves. I got robbed and so did many others in front of me. Never will I attend another concert in this country again,” she said.
Standby generator. The explanation by the management of Mathari District Hospital that it could not attend to pregnant women in dire need of ultrasound services due to persistent power outages was flimsy, said Mercyline Adhiambo. She wondered why poor mothers-to-be should be forced to seek the services in more expensive health centres just because someone had not thought it wise to install a stand-by generator.
That the hospital had operated for so long without one, she said was an indicator of poor management. “Didn’t they envision possible challenges like blackouts or, like so many institutions, were they waiting for serikali iingilie kati (government intervention)?” she asked adding, “I think some level of preparedness is needed especially when mothers’ and babies’ lives are involved.”
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Policing. It was time to rethink the Nyumba Kumi security initiative, Towett Towett said. The plan, he pointed out, had failed to successfully kick off because it lacked creativity and it did not resonate with modern lifestyle.
“We have advanced socially. I think the roles played by village elders would have borne more fruits in enhancing security in the village level than going on TV and radio stations pushing for a copied idea,” said Mr Towett. He admitted that the initial community policing idea worked for a while, but doubted Nyumba Kumi would ever get past the planning stage. Instead, he recommended that the Government should introduce a week-long public-police interactive session to break the icy relationship.
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Looking the other way. The Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) was concerned that Tuskys Supermarket management may be looking the other way as its staff handled customers in a discourteous manner. Cofek said it had received numerous complaints about unprofessionalism among workers in different outlets.
One complainant, Cofek said, had reported that on several occasions he had painstakingly queued to pay for goods only to be told to join another queue without as much as an apology. Another said the price tags at Greenspan Mall branch did not match the price charged at the till. When she reported it to the management, to her surprise nothing was done. “It is time Tuskys staff acted professionally,” said Cofek.
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