The People’s Champion January 8, 2014
Move out. The writing is clearly on the wall for Outer Ring Road traders who have encroached on road reserves and they would do well to move out in good time, says Peter Mwaka. With the announcement that expansion work to convert the road into a dual carriage will start in two months, Mwaka says the traders don’t have the luxury of playing the victim card, hoping for compensation.
He says: “It is an unfortunate retrogressive mentality among public land encroachers and probably the biggest factor holding back the development of infrastructures.” He adds that neither do they have a right to demand that an alternative place for their trade is identified before they bring down their buildings and iron sheet shacks.
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Associated ills. Rose Wanja says the usual traffic jams aside, commuting in Public Service Vehicles can only get better if the plan to force matatus to adopt a cashless fare payment system by June is implemented. Rose is adamant that most of the ills associated with the industry have to do with the use of hard cash.
“If the conductors did not carry with them the money, they would not be the subject of a lot of harassment by corrupt police officers as they seek bribes. Similarly, with a cashless system, matatu owners won’t have to worry about the crews eating where they have not sowed,” she says. However, Rose adds, the plan’s success depends a lot on how well the government and other players will implement it.
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A rip-off. Martha Wacuka is impressed by the fact that the county government has painted public toilets in the city. The yellow, green and white colours make them attractive, she says. She however, has a few suggestions for Governor Evans Kidero. First, Wacuka says the cleanliness of the toilets must be improved as a matter of urgency.
“They may have water after their rehabilitation, but the smell is usually pungent,” she says asking for the provision of air fresheners. Second, she advises that the cost of using them should be reduced in view of the high cost of living. “Paying Sh10 for their use feels like a rip-off, even for someone making a good living like me. How much more for the jobless Nairobian?” she asks.
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Selfish interests. All the self-appointed mediators in the Kidero-Shebesh saga should come clean on their selfish interests and stop trying to divert the course of justice, says Kelvin Oduor who adds that their involvement is doing more harm than good.
“Governor Evans Kidero is on record saying he did not slap anyone and so is Ms Shebesh that she is innocent of the allegations against her,” he says. Oduor therefore adds that he does not understand why someone would rush to court to seek an order blocking the case of a governor who believes he is innocent unless he hold a contrary opinion. He says only the court process will show who among the leaders will at the end stand the test of integrity which is a constitutional requirement.
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