The Cutting Edge - 24 April 2014

ON THE ROAD TO SAFETY. Though the high rate of road accidents is being blamed on corrupt police, speeding, drink driving, and poor roads, a vital issue is always ignored, says Charles Campbell Clause. According to him, it is the corrupt issuance of driving licences. “Hardly one in 100 people are taught the rules of the road and traffic etiquette or learn about a car’s stopping distance, acceleration or anything more than how to change gears and steer a vehicle in the right direction! Correct this and we’ll be on the road to safer driving!” His contact is [email protected].

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STRANGE OBSESSION. Some politicians seem obsessed with the idea of a “24-hour economy”, but Paul Otieno warns that it is no panacea for the country’s problems. A round-the-clock business system, he adds, will “not magically grow the economy. Economic growth is achieved through efficiencies, not the number of hours a business stays open. A secure business environment is also key in such enterprises, as a trader carrying cash in the dead of night is easy prey for police, muggers and carjackers.”

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LET HIM MAKE GOOD. The contractor hired to mark the lanes on the Kayole-Spine road in Nairobi’s Eastlands did a poor job, resulting in a waste of public funds, charges David Motari. “The paint had hardy dried when it was washed away, leaving the road as if it had never been marked.” To add insult to injury, there are hardly any road signs, yet the work was fully paid for. The best way to get value for the money already spent is to require the fellow to do a repeat job. His contact is [email protected].

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WHERE YOUR CASH WENT. PC World’s Mombasa branch manager Arthur Kenga Kalume says Nigel Henson knows why he was charged the Sh15,000 he complained about. Nigel, he adds, took an old computer to them on January 27. It was then sent to the workshop in Nairobi, where its motherboard was found to be obsolete and needing replacement. After a discussions, Nigel agreed to hire Arthur’s personal computer at Sh500 a day for about a month, hence the Sh15,000. He will also be charged for the diagnosis and transport to and from Nairobi. His contact is Tel 0722571008.

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REVIVE TRIPARTITE PACT. Looking into the past to solve a current problem is Clement Kigano, who says the government’s challenge of youth unemployment can be considerably eased by reviving the spirit of the industrial relations tripartite agreements of 1964-1979. Under those agreements, employers increased their recruitment levels by at least 10 per cent a year and trade unions reciprocated by observing “a wage freeze and strike-free environment during a set period of, say, five to 10 years”. His contact is [email protected].

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OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN. The much-talked about shortage of coins in supermarkets and shops just masks the real problem, says Kanyi Gioko. According to him, the culprits are the people who have been collecting and hoarding coins for a long time. “In many homes, coins are either thrown into a drawer or a box. There are millions of coins lying idle in kitchen cabinets, on TV tables, in car glove compartments and on window sills. Getting these people to return the coins will end the artificial shortage.”
Have a sensible day, won’t you!