The Cutting Edge

Footbridges are badly needed on Mombasa Road, Nairobi, to ensure the safety of pedestrians, but covering them up with billboards and other adverts creates room for robbers and rapists who hide and pounce on users, says Wangui Munyua. “The additional panelling on the sides of the bridge to accommodate advertising contributes to insecurity as crooks hide behind them.” She hopes the Kangemi Bridge on Waiyaki Way, which has become a black spot, will also receive attention.

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Water has been flowing to waste from a broken section of the main pipe linking Luckysummer to Dandora, Nairobi, for two months now, reports Caleb Omolo. Pained by the sight of the waste, he adds, he has personally reported several times to Nairobi Water Company, which has yet to take action. “Have they relaxed because the rains are here? A pond has formed at a dumpsite. When will this be fixed?” asks Caleb, whose email is callebuk@yahoo.co.uk

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Nearly 10 months since water supply to Jericho estate was disconnected to sort out the problem of contamination by sewage, Patrick Mwangi and his neighbours remain without water. “Old pipes were uprooted and new ones laid, after which we were asked to clear our bills before being reconnected. I have since gone to their Eastleigh and Buru Buru offices often, but in vain. Can the authorities intervene so we can get water?”

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What is the correct name of the town that is the headquarters of the new Makuyu District? asks M. Mwariri. He says he’s quite baffled, as if one approaches the town on the highway from the Nairobi side, one will notice signposts bearing different names, but all referring to the same little township. There is Kenol, Makuyu, Makutano and Kenol-Makutano. Now, which is which?’’

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Queries on Safaricom’s popular Supa Ongea tariff persist, despite CEO Michael Joseph’s recent eloquent explanation of how time and location of caller determine the rate. Says Nafisa Alibhai: “It’s out of sync or maybe a rip-off! When my cell broadcast was showing the rate at Sh2, I loaded Sh200, made a call for 11 seconds, and was charged Sh1.50! This means that the call was charged at Sh8. When I dialled *155#, the charge was shown as Sh8.” Her number is 0750834595.

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Plans by Safaricom to enable Kenyans in the UK to use the popular M-Pesa money transfer service to send cash to their relatives back home is commendable, says John Njuguna. However, John can’t understand why the firm would choose to go so far away and not consider extending the service to Tanzania. “Can CEO Michael Joseph tell us when the folks in Tanzania will be able to make use of M-Pesa?” His email is jowanju2002@gmail.com.

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Every morning, as he goes to work, Meshack K. Ronoh stands with other commuters at the gate to Dam estate on Lang’ata Road and can’t help but notice the large number of motorists driving all alone. “But a colleague in Umoja tells me of five neighbours who use a single car to work every day on a cost-sharing basis. If this could be emulated in other parts of the city, imagine how much we would save!”

Have frugal day, won’t you!