There’s something sinister about outbreak of strikes

While the right to picket is deeply entrenched in our still brand new Constitution, something doesn’t smell right about what is going on in the country.

Needless to say, the country is at a virtual standstill. Primary and secondary school teachers are on strike. University teaching and non-teaching staff are on strike, doctors are on strike and there have been whispers that police officers have been on a go-slow.

There is no secret that ours is a dishonest government, which also suffers bouts of amnesia.  That’s why it makes pledges but never bothers to fulfil them.

Motley demands

But the teachers, doctors et al are also either dishonest conspirators or very poor planners. How comes their strike action came at the same time? Or is September the official month for striking? Someone should do a striking calender and allocate all cadres of workers their striking period. That way, workers will demand their rights without paralysing an entire country. And  let’s be reasonable.

Can the State  meet the motley demands of the diverse strikers at a go? Highly unlikely.

Sub-agent  in urgent need of help

 It appears Ms Nakisa Wakesho, who complained on PointBlank last week about the blocking of her M-Pesa by Safaricom,  is not the only sub-agent in agony. Another sub-agent from Narok  who has requested anonymity claims her line was also blocked three weeks ago.

No warning or explanation was given beforehand.

She called Safaricom customer care and was told to talk to her administrator, who promised that the line would be unblocked in two weeks time.

 This has not been done and the administrator has gone mum and allegedly no longer picks her calls

 “I must say that this is very unfair for people like me who are trying to make a living.”

“Is the company going to compensate me for the loss that I have suffered during the period I have not been working?”, asks the sub-agent who is certain that her then balance  of Sh38,050 would have increased by now.

She adds: “I am demanding that Safaricom explain this as they have not said anything despite my several enquiries.”

She can be contacted on 0725601381.

 

‘Ignored’ order at Moi Hospital

Ms Prisilla Jeptoo is happy and unhappy in equal measure at the treatment her family received at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital-Memorial Wing. Happy because the condition of her mother who was admitted to the hospital for five weeks in a ‘semi coma’ has improved.

Unhappy because the hospital, nay, some administrators have “unfairly detained” her mother against the good advice of the hospital director.

On September 10, after incurring a bill of Sh1.17 million and having paid 75 per cent of it, the family, according to Jeptoo, requested the director to discharge the patient with a promise that the balance would be cleared in a few weeks.

The director allegedly agreed   and instructed the finance manager to release the patient.

concerned

However, the administrator and an accountant reportedly ignored the order and refused to release her. “Not only that, they transferred my mother to the General Ward claiming the family cannot pay the bill. Why did the two members of staff mistreat the patient? Why were they disrespectful and contemptious of the director?

Jeptoo’s contact is [email protected].

No space for

K-Gas at Mobil Mr Tosh Sila, who complained here last week that the  pledge on standardisation of liquefied petroleum gas cylinders wasn’t working was spot on, according to Ruiru resident Francis Wainaina.

Wainaina says he was also turned away by Mobil Petrol Station in Ruiru on September 9 when he went to refill his 13kg K-Gas cylinder. “The lady attendant curtly told me that they don’t exchange K-Gas cylinders for Mobil cylinders.”

“What was the sense behind the standardisation if not to make the gas accessible to many?” What was the sense, Energy Regulatory Commission?

DON’T YOU FORGET

Did Karatina clear the mounds soiling its name?      

On August 16, Mr Kariuki Muiri wrote to PointBlank from Karatina complaining that the town was in a sorry state. He was especially concerned about some huge mounds of soil that he said were dumped on the street off Kanisa Road about two years ago by a developer but no one has ever bothered to clear them. Muiri further said that Karatina Town Council was little bothered by the eyesore either. He wondered how a council worth its salt can accept to lose revenue (in terms of parking fees) for two years without doing anything about it.

“Residents who have had to put up with this nonsense for over two years now know that the offending developer is taking advantage of the fact that he is a relative of an influential politician,” he alleged.  Did the council finally remove the eye-sore?