Garbage burning issues....

I have written about this umpteen number of times to various officialdom including NEMA to no avail.

So, I am writing this, yet again, since our County (they call themselves MC4), seems to be serious about the issue of garbage.

It is  now at least a month since I have been complaining to Mr. Waziri and others dealing with this  issue to no avail. Oh yes, they sent a car over with 3 to 4 people in it including the driver two of whom got out and went and studied the place where people are dumping garbage and also burning it at irregular intervals. Then, after doing this, they got back into the car and left at top speed. They never got back to me regarding what they were going to do about it, so I called Mr. Waziri again and asked him. He told me that he was waiting for feedback from his team and then would let me know.

I am still waiting and despite calling him subsequently, he has refused to answer his phone. Therefore, I sent him a whatsapp message which he finally read (the tick becomes double and turns blue), but, no reply.

Then, I decided to call his boss Mr. Ibrahim Basafar. At first, he wouldn't answer the phone but finally he did. When I told him about my woes, he refused to listen anymore and promptly told me to call Mr. Waziri who was in-charge of this area of Nyali. He did not let me finish my sentence that Mr. Waziri was not answering my queries and hence my calling him and instead cut off the phone. 

Are these 'officialdom' so busy or maybe arrogant, to deal with the work that they are employed by us (our taxpayers money goes to pay their very hiked up salaries and therefore we are their employers which they conveniently forget), to even answer their phones?!

This morning, parts of our estate (Umoja), was enveloped in smoke from two garbage burning sites. The one mentioned above and the other by the car wash people who have rented that empty plot next to our estate. These people collect garbage and start burning it anytime of the day or night. Sometimes even twice! I  visited them yesterday to request them to stop doing that and to put it in a bag and throw it at a designated site to which they agreed. But, that was all humbug. This morning they were burning it, again!

I also sent Mr. Waziri a whatsapp message which still has not been read as I write this.

Can the people concerned, please take some action? Or do they only work when the media are around clicking away  at their cameras?

BEWARE - The disabled of Mombasa County!!!

Why is it that the County of Mombasa is so insensitive to the plight of people with various disabilities - visible and invisible (to the general public)? By invisible I mean for  example that a person could be sight impaired or hearing impaired but these disabilities are not necessarily immediately apparent to the public till they interact with them. And these are just two examples for there are many disabilities which are invisible.

Mombasa County officials are not only insensitive towards the disabled but are also totally IGNORANT.

In fact, I would suggest that with their welcome sign at the beginning of the County, they should add that this place is ONLY for the totally FIT and ABLE-bodied and woe betide anybody who happens to be otherwise. They will not be tolerated or understood!

Let me explain what happened to a tuk tuk and it's driver and the organization that hires it, further.

On the 12th of February 2014, the Dear Diary Initiative (DDI), office got a call from Coast General Hospital asking them to help in transporting a disabled and sick patient home. Since DDI is a charity outfit and is specifically for the disabled and underprivileged members of society, they sent the tuk tuk to Coast General to pick up this patient. The tuk tuk also has a clearly visible to all sign on it's windshield of the disabled. So the driver went as close to the entrance as possible to pick this person up. But just as he reached the entrance a Council askari descended on him and very rudely got in and started shouting at the driver to move and that he was under arrest.

The driver kept trying to explain to him that he was there to pick up a disabled and sick patient and also  there was no other traffic around that he was hindering, either. But this askari refused to listen, look or think about what he was being told. Why?

If the driver had tried to find a parking (and he wasn't even parked at the entrance), how would a disabled person get to him?

Anyway, he was unceremoniously dragged to the Council where he was locked up and the tuk tuk impounded. Nobody was listening to anything that this driver was saying. The tuk tuk's reg. No. is KTWA 677E and the driver's name Kumbe Kalama.

One of the DDI employees, who is also disabled, went to the Council to sort things out with them, but, it got her nowhere as NOBODY there was ready to listen including the magistrate.

Now, what is this 'court' and magistrate for if the accused are not allowed to defend themselves and like kangaroo courts of yester year, passes questionable 'judgements'. Is this justice?

Can our Judiciary please look into this?

At the Court, he was fined 11,000/- before the vehicle was released. The receipt No. is 0783350 and the case number is M532/2014.

Subsequent visits and a letter dated 14th February 2014, have gone unanswered and now over 2 months later, the money is still being withheld for wrongful arrest.

So, all the disabled of this County - BEWARE!!!!

We are dealing with extremely semi- and illiterate and insensitive people in the County of Mombasa. Take care how you go about your business whatever it might be and best wishes.

Re: The T-Junction at Cinemax, Nyali

What a defeatist comment!!!! Sure we pray to Allah to give these people some integrity and brains, but we also try and get our disapproving voices heard. In fact, the complaints email address of the Council is bouncing due to it's mailbox being full! What does that tell you of this Council?

Remember, the hadith of the Holy Prophet (pbuh)? That we trust in God but tie our camels.

With prayers, there should also be some action and what better and very non-violent way than to WRITE about injustices in our midst.

And since we're members of the MCCBO, we really should be doing something about this since quite a few of our members live in Nyali and are suffering the consequences of this.

Officialdom, instead of trying to ease the traffic jams during peak hours, seems to be hell-bent on causing more jams!

Salaams,

Raziya

On Tue, Sep 10, 2013 at 6:31 PM, Hussein A Abbas Al Hussein  wrote:

Mama Raziya

Let's have patience Allah Karim what can we do if all goes to deaf ears mamangu
Sent from my BlackBerry®

-----Original Message-----
From: Raziya Mohamedali 

Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 15:25:03
To: hemantpatel 

<complaints@mombasacity.go.ke>; <infrastructure@mombasa.go.ke>; <mohammedabbas.m@gmail.com>; <hassan.joho@gmail.com>; <nakumatt@nakumatt.net>; <jndegwa@nakumatt.net>
Cc: <catherine.gicheru@the-star.co.ke>; <editorial@coastthisweek.co.ke>; <info@coastweek.com>; <di_ho_ff@yahoo.com>; <kenyatimesonline@yahoo.com>; <letters@the-star.co.ke>; <mailbox@nation.co.ke>; <mmwende@yahoo.com>; <mwangiayub@gmail.com>; <tvnews@ke.nationmedia.com>; <fountainmedia@fep-group.com>; <ronklif@yahoo.com>; <sidobosire@yahoo.com>; <newsdesk@nairobistar.com>; <vipslit@yahoo.ca>; <wanjiru.kinoti@nairobistar.com>; <weekend@nairobistar.com>
Subject: Re: The T-Junction at Cinemax, Nyali

'Evening!


Since my email below to 'officialdom', nothing seems to have changed (as expected), since the supposed officialdom cares two hoots for the community they claim to serve.


They seem to be least concerned with the frustrations that their extremely useless new 'traffic law' has caused to countless residents.


And if you've read some of the comments on LinkedIn regarding this issue, you will find that most people are so tired and fed up with our so-called 'servants' of the people (they are more like 'servants' of the high and mighty and well connected), that they expect all the negative reactions to this latest insanity!


For example imagine the mental and physical condition of a resident (who has a vehicle which quite a few people in Nyali have), after battling with the late afternoon traffic from work in town who finally arrives on the Nyali Rd., and thinks he/she is on the last stretch home and remembers that s/he needs some bread and milk from Nakumatt. So, s/he turns right at the Cinemax junction. After getting the required stuff, tiredly stands in the long line at the cashier to pay and then gets in the car and drives out the gate to turn right and join the main road to carry on further along the road to get home....


Instead what happens? There standing in front of him/her in the middle of the road, this intimidating 'official' human (?!), telling this very exhausted driver to go back to the Rockwall junction and re-join the traffic jam there. In the process s/he will waste another, at least half an hour if not more to get home with very frayed and frustrated nerves.


And you might ask why? All because, some two businesses (as rumour has it), have taken it upon themselves to pay our questionable council to re-arrange the traffic flow for their own personal ends without a shred of planning involved as to the logistics that this selfish action will involve!


These people have only to observe how many drivers really 'obey' their daft rule when there is no intimidating presence of 'officialdom', and they will hopefully realize the stupidity of their new and very daft rule!


The whole exercise is expensive - fuel wise, traffic wise and emotionally! I wonder if this will get through their collective heads.... whoever is involved..?


Very disgusted,
 Raziya

On Tue, Sep 10, 2013 at 8:27 AM, Hemant Patel wrote:


Dear Razia,
                        Thank you for the well meaning e'mail. You have correctly described this new " most daft traffic rule" at junction of Total stn/ Mkomani and Cinemax. We admire your efforts to bring to the notice of 'administrators' of various departments of our county and Nation over the years even if it falls on deaf ears. Carry on good work. God bless you.

         Have a nice Day.

      Koki and Hemant

Re: The T-Junction at Cinemax, Nyali

Since my email below to 'officialdom', nothing seems to have changed (as expected), since the supposed officialdom cares two hoots for the community they claim to serve.

They seem to be least concerned with the frustrations that their extremely useless new 'traffic law' has caused to countless residents.

And if you've read some of the comments on LinkedIn regarding this issue, you will find that most people are so tired and fed up with our so-called 'servants' of the people (they are more like 'servants' of the high and mighty and well connected), that they expect all the negative reactions to this latest insanity!

For example imagine the mental and physical condition of a resident (who has a vehicle which quite a few people in Nyali have), after battling with the late afternoon traffic from work in town who finally arrives on the Nyali Rd., and thinks he/she is on the last stretch home and remembers that s/he needs some bread and milk from Nakumatt. So, s/he turns right at the Cinemax junction. After getting the required stuff, tiredly stands in the long line at the cashier to pay and then gets in the car and drives out the gate to turn right and join the main road to carry on further along the road to get home.... 

Instead what happens? There standing in front of him/her in the middle of the road, this intimidating 'official' human (?!), telling this very exhausted driver to go back to the Rockwall junction and re-join the traffic jam there. In the process s/he will waste another, at least half an hour if not more to get home with very frayed and frustrated nerves.

And you might ask why? All because, some two businesses (as rumour has it), have taken it upon themselves to pay our questionable council to re-arrange the traffic flow for their own personal ends without a shred of planning involved as to the logistics that this selfish action will involve!

These people have only to observe how many drivers really 'obey' their daft rule when there is no intimidating presence of 'officialdom', and they will hopefully realize the stupidity of their new and very daft rule! 

The whole exercise is expensive - fuel wise, traffic wise and emotionally! I wonder if this will get through their collective heads.... whoever is involved..?

Very disgusted,

Raziya

On Tue, Sep 10, 2013 at 8:27 AM, Hemant Patel wrote:

Dear Razia,

                        Thank you for the well meaning e'mail. You have correctly described this new " most daft traffic rule" at junction of Total stn/ Mkomani and Cinemax. We admire your efforts to bring to the notice of 'administrators' of various departments of our county and Nation over the years even if it falls on deaf ears. Carry on good work. God bless you.

         Have a nice Day.

      Koki and Hemant

----- Original Message -----

From: Raziya Mohamedali

To: Mombasa City Council (MCC) ; Minister of Transport & Infrastructure, Mombasa County - Hon. Mohammed Abbas ; Minister of Transport & Infrastructure, Mombasa County - Hon. Mohammed Abbas ; Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission - Mombasa ; Hassan Ali Joho

Cc: Catherine Gicheru ; Coast This Week ; COASTWEEK ; K24 Television - Dihoff Mukoto ; Kenya Times ; LETTERS THE STAR ; The Editor- THE NATION ; Mwende Mwinzi ; Ayub Mwangi ; NTV ; Oscar - Editor, Fountain Media (The Speaker Newspaper) ; Salama Radio ; Sisuel Ong'era ; The Star ; Vip Ogola ; Wanjiru ; WEEKEND NAIROBI STAR ; feedback@theasianweekly.net

Sent: Saturday, September 07, 2013 7:48 PM

Subject: The T-Junction at Cinemax, Nyali

'Evening!

Since the past couple of weeks, we, the residents of Nyali, have been treated to the most daft rule at the above mentioned junction.

This road which ends at another T-Junction at Total Petrol Stn/Mkomani, has no sign telling the vehicle users at that end that at the Cinemax end they will no longer be able to access the main Nyali road (join it), and if there are council askaris around they will be told in an unceremonious manner to turn around and go back the way they came and if they want to access the main road, they can now only do so at the Rockwall junction which was at the best of times a mess, anyway.

So now, instead of distributing the traffic at the above two junctions like before, we HAVE to use the Rockwall one ONLY! Increasing traffic jams which during peak times have a domino effect all the way to the bridge.

ALL vehicles HAVE to use this one and only junction whether one is going further into Nyali or towards the Bridge and away.

I wonder who was the genius who planned this...?!

Since our Council is not known for giving much thought to planning ANYTHING, this is one perfect example.

In fact, whenever, this (the Cinemax end), junction is not 'policed', every driver breaks this daft rule.

The boards, too, have been put up wrongly.

Why penalize the residents with such a roundabout way of getting home?

Did these 'planners' do a proper study of the logistics of this irritating and frustrating rule? I very much doubt it.

Please, undo this daft traffic rule and bring sanity back.

Raziya

The T-Junction at Cinemax, Nyali

Since the past couple of weeks, we, the residents of Nyali, have been treated to the most daft rule at the above mentioned junction.

This road which ends at another T-Junction at Total Petrol Stn/Mkomani, has no sign telling the vehicle users at that end that at the Cinemax end they will no longer be able to access the main Nyali road (join it), and if there are council askaris around they will be told in an unceremonious manner to turn around and go back the way they came and if they want to access the main road, they can now only do so at the Rockwall junction which was at the best of times a mess, anyway.

So now, instead of distributing the traffic at the above two junctions like before, we HAVE to use the Rockwall one ONLY! Increasing traffic jams which during peak times have a domino effect all the way to the bridge.

ALL vehicles HAVE to use this one and only junction whether one is going further into Nyali or towards the Bridge and away.

I wonder who was the genius who planned this...?!

Since our Council is not known for giving much thought to planning ANYTHING, this is one perfect example.

In fact, whenever, this (the Cinemax end), junction is not 'policed', every driver breaks this daft rule.

The boards, too, have been put up wrongly.

Why penalize the residents with such a roundabout way of getting home?

Did these 'planners' do a proper study of the logistics of this irritating and frustrating rule? I very much doubt it.

Please, undo this daft traffic rule and bring sanity back.

Report: Poverty and political conflict in Mombasa

This is an excellent assessment of what ails

our once beautiful and safe and friendly town...

Raziya

For those who want a comprehensive analysis of Mombasa
here is a detailed report available in pdf format .
> http://www.bvsde.paho.org/bvsacd/cd26/enurb/v12n1/153.pdf
>
> Poverty and political conflict in Mombasa
> Carole Rakodi, Rose Gatabaki-Kamau and Nick Devas
>
> SUMMARY: This paper describes how complex political struggles in Mombasa
> underlie the inadequate provision for basic infrastructure and services, and
> the corruption and lack of accountability within government. These struggles
> are underpinned by overlapping responsibilities and rivalry between central
> and local government, and a political system (both national and local) which
> plays on ethnic and tribal loyalties as a basis for support and reward. The
> paper also describes how and why the city has failed to fully realize its
> economic potential, has extensive poverty and experiences major inadequacies
> in provision for water, sanitation, garbage collection, health care,
> education and housing. Drawing on the findings of
> a recent participatory poverty assessment, the paper outlines the coping
> strategies of poor and very poor households and suggests measures which
> would help ensure that their needs receive more attention.
>
> In this article, the state of the city's economy is analyzed, with
> particular reference to the opportunities it generates for the poor. This is
> followed by a review of the evidence on the extent and nature of poverty.
> Important in this context is the social heterogeneity of the city, a product
> both of the economic opportunities available and of its history.
> Responsibility for governance is divided, mainly between the Mombasa
> Municipal Council (MMC) and the district organization of central government.
> Central-local relations are key to understanding the city's politics. The
> performance of public service providers is assessed in Section IV, followed
> by an analysis of the characteristics, dynamics and governance of the
> informal settlements in which the majority of the city's population,
> including
> the poor, live. Finally, recent attempts to devise more appropriate
> approaches to poverty reduction are described.
>
> Carole Rakodi is a professor in the Department of City and
> Regional Planning, Cardiff University and course director of the
> international MSc in Urban Planning. Rose Gatabaki-Kamau is a
> researcher in the Housing and Building Research Institute, University of
> Nairobi, Kenya. Nick Devas is a senior lecturer in the International
> Development Department,School of Public Policy,
> University of Birmingham.
> Address: Carole Rakodi,
> Department of City and
> Regional Planning, Cardiff
> University, Glamorgan
> Building, King Edward
> VII Avenue, Cardiff CF10
> 3WA, UK; e-mail:
> rakodi@cf.ac.uk
> 1. This is a summary of one
> of nine city case studies
> prepared as part of a
> research programme on
> Urban Governance,
> Partnerships and Poverty,
> funded by the UK
> Department for
> International
> Development's ESCOR
> programme. This involved
> research teams in each of
> these cities and a coalition
> of UK-based research
> groups from the University
> of Birmingham, the
> International Institute for
> Environment and
> Development (IIED), the
> University of Wales,
> II. ECONOMIC GROWTH, URBAN DEVELOPMENT
> AND THE POOR
> SINCE AT LEAST the eleventh century, Mombasa has been a trading port.
> Arab and Shirazi settlers established themselves as farmers and in coastal
> towns, including Mombasa. Conflict over control of the towns followed
> the arrival of Portuguese explorers in the fifteenth century. Early in the
> eighteenth century, the Portuguese withdrew and Mombasa came under
> the control, first, of Omani Arabs and then of the Sultan of Zanzibar. The
> economy of the port depended on trade in ivory, grain and slaves. In 1895,
> the British government took over administrative responsibility for Kenya
> from the British East Africa Company, and from the Sultan of Zanzibar
> for the coastal strip. Construction of the railway to Uganda was started
> and, in 1907, the capital of the colony moved from Mombasa to Nairobi
> which, subsequently, rapidly overtook Mombasa in terms of population
> and economic importance.
> The city has a diverse economy based on trade and commerce, tourism
> and manufacturing. However, none of these sectors is as prosperous as
> might be expected. Trade has been damaged by regional and intra-national
> instability and conflict, external shocks and poor management of the
> national economy, before and since the adoption of intensified structural
> adjustment policies at the beginning of the 1990s. The total volume of
> cargo
> traffic (8.5 million tonnes in 1998)(3) has stagnated over the last 20
> years.
> The small annual increase between 1992 and 1998 (0.54 per cent per
> annum) can be attributed to increased imports associated with trade
> liberalization,
> rather than export growth. In addition, operation of the port is
> hindered by poor rail and road transport links within the city and with its
> hinterland, and by congestion and mismanagement. The import-export
> trade is widely associated in Kenya with corruption and tax evasion, and
> the responsible parastatal, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), is generally
> regarded as inefficient. Between 1993 and 1995, increased congestion at the
> port was compounded by mismanagement said to be associated with the
> appointment of Rashid Sajjad, a local businessman of Asian origin, a
> nominated

Our water woes and the water kiosks...

It is very strange and suspicious why residents of Mombasa do not get water for days on end, but, the water kiosks, do.

I have always written, talked to various 'water officials' and generally tried to object to these kiosks for years. In an urban setting they are quite ridiculous and hence my repeated likening to Mombasa being treated like a village by our government in more ways than one. This is just one of them.

How come one does not find water kiosks dotting all over Nairobi or any other major town up-country? Why only at the coast? It smacks of backwardness.

One of the reasons I've brought this kiosk topic up after quite a while is not because all is well in this town (I refuse to call it a 'city' since it has none of the amenities a city should have and water is one of them), but, because, I'm really FED UP writing and talking about this issue and had begun to sound like a stuck record! And not one person in the water sector or even at World Bank could be bothered about making any visible improvements.

All that launching of Citizen's report cards, etc., was just a big window dressing set up to hoodwink the public. Nothing more has been heard about it..... or has it?!

Anyway, back to the water kiosks where they get water but, we don't. Why, again? What's their secret that they do? Have some palms been greased, somewhere? Or is politics involved even in this like every service provision in this country?

There is a water kiosk right outside our estate (Umoja), and while we hardly get any fresh water, this kiosk, does!!!! WHY?

Please, somebody out there, answer....

The flooring at Nakumatt Nyali Mall

I, and several others have noticed that the new floor tiling that is being done at the above mall/s, while quite attractive, are very impractical for walking on by the general public. This is especially so of the very shiny border tiles which are highly slippery when wet or sandy.

The sandy bit we've discovered yesterday, when some of the tiles were still not put in place and there was sand around them. Several members of the public slipped and nearly lost their balance, but, thankfully, did not fall. We would like to know who would take responsibility of such an eventuality when somebody slips and falls and gets injured? Would the company doing this work accept responsibility?

I ask this because, after I had slipped and nearly fell (I'm also disabled), I asked various senior staff at Nakumatt about whom to contact and they gave me Mr. Talasam Mohamed's business card whom I rang immediately giving my name and telling him what had happened. His response was quite unbelievable.

He claimed that the public would just have to be careful when walking on those tiles as his company cannot 'undo' the tiling and make it fit for walking by all people - young, old, fit and unfit. This, I find is a very insensitive response to a very legitimate complaint.

Then, there is the general observation of our various building constructions whose plans are passed by our Town Planning Dept. at our Council. Do ANY of these people give a moment's thought to the disabled people's plight and how the various members of the public with varying degrees of disabilities, are going to deal with the buildings whose plans they so thoughtlessly pass?

In the same way, this company which is doing the flooring of these malls, I don't think gave even a moment's thought to the fact that these tiles are quite impractical to walk on when wet, etc. And since they insist on carrying on with their work as is, I would like to know, if they will also bear the consequences of a person getting injured as a result? In other places of the world they have to or they would be sued.

When, I mentioned this to Mr. Talasam Mohamed, it did not bother him in the least and so, I told him that I would write this letter/email and send him a copy of it, too, to which he whole-heartedly agreed. I hope and pray that he will pass it on to the others in his company who are, I believe, more mature and responsible about these issues.

Re: An invitation to experience garbage burning....

Subsequent to my two emails to NEMA and other officialdom, again, last Saturday (see below), I got the following response from one of my recipients who is a doctor. I think, that and my emails speak for themselves....

Yet, nothing is being done. Why?

Raziya

On 9/11/2011 8:16 AM, Dr Juzar Hooker wrote:

This is such a serious matter with disastrous consequences for our health, affecting so many of us so much of the time, that on this kind of smoke and noise pollution, on our roads, around our our homes and in our neighbourhoods, there should be serious action taken to assist Raziya and her neighbours as well as so many of us in similar situations. Smoking lorries and vehicles are another big preventable cause of pollution (we had one in front of us yesterday for much of the way), as is noise.

Dr Juzar Hooker
Consulting Neurologist

Rooms 401/2, Doctors Plaza, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi
Phone   +254 20 3744256/7, 3662769
Telefax +254 20 3744257
E-mail: juzar.hooker@aku.edu, jhooker@africaonline.co.ke

P O Box 19396 – 00202 KNH, Nairobi, Kenya

Re: An invitation to experience garbage burning....

The above invitation has been ignored by the NEMA - both the local Mombasa branch and their head offices in Nairobi. Not only this, but, none of them have even acknowledged my email forget about replying it.

They seem to be under the impression that by doing this the problem will go away, i.e. 'die a natural death'. Well, it won't!

Unfortunately, for NEMA and most of our officialdom like the Mombasa Municipal Council who are in-charge of collecting garbage and disposing off it in an environmentally friendly manner, are ignoring these very issues and doing NOTHING about it. I suppose, they haven't heard about global warming, climate change, etc., as yet. If they haven't then I suggest that they get off their backsides and start educating themselves and start implementing their own laws and by-laws regarding the burning of garbage.

These miscreants who burn the garbage in my neighbourhood in an empty plot next to our estate are known by NEMA, but, they are taking no action against them. There is also another interesting part in this. Despite, there being a number of kiosks near this plot, not one person knows WHO set the garbage on fire. Being typical non-interfering Kenyans they are like the 3 monkeys - See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil and my addition to this would be 'Do Nothing'. Why, one wonders....?! Does the plot owner have 'connections' with someone who is in turn also 'connected'? And in this country such things always boil down to politics. So, who is really responsible for this non-action?

And the interesting part of all this is that, this thug who owns the plot, knows exactly when to do the burning. It is always done under cover of darkness, or like this morning, on a weekend, when s/he knows that not one person in 'officialdom' (NEMA), will want to take action at a time when they are off. Because, when I could not get any response to my repeated calls to Mr. Ben Wemali who is in-charge of this out here, I decided to call NEMA's Nairobi offices around mid-morning when our whole building and part of the estate were enveloped in such dense smoke that we could not see the buildings across the road or even the traffic on it! The answer I finally got after calling various numbers of their Nairobi office, is that none of the officials were on duty as it was a Saturday. And that I should call about this on Monday.

Now, for these people's information, unlike them, the crooks in our midst, know exactly when to break the law and get away with it. Choose a weekend or after hours on a weekday when all of these officials will be very averse to following up on a live lead.

Therefore, it is not surprising that we have such impudent people in our midst.


On 7/27/2011 2:18 PM, Raziya wrote:

'Afternoon!

I would like to invite every NEMA representative who can make it even from Nairobi, the Municipal Council's Environment department and the Public Health one, too, to my place at a time when garbage is being burned in the neighbourhood. This, so that they will experience first hand the consequences of their inactivity in stopping this disgusting practice.

It would also help, if they, in the meantime, try and imagine what it is like for the residents of parts of our estate who have to on a daily basis, inhale this acrid smoke with minimum of ventilation in our houses and when some of us are suffering from colds and horrible bronchitis like coughs, too. Maybe, we should take the 3 mentioned above outfits to task, officially, for letting our complaints fall on deaf and uncaring ears.

Oh, but I forgot - that our Municipal Council has scant regard for the rule of law or respect for it and it seems that NEMA is also following in it's lawless footsteps.

Despite having talked to umpteen numbers of NEMA officials both in their Nairobi head office and locally, NOTHING is being done about the issue and the garbage burners in our midst are insolently doing this every single day anytime of the day or night! Of late, it's been happening during the lunch hour.

So, could you all please, accept my invitation to experience what it feels like to inhale garbage burning right outside your living quarters? And it will be a special 'treat' if some of you are suffering from a bout of cold, 'flu and coughs, too! Let's see how you like it. Not to mention the muck that will dirty the house/s just after you've cleaned up.

An invitation to experience garbage burning....

I would like to invite every NEMA representative who can make it even from Nairobi, the Municipal Council's Environment department and the Public Health one, too, to my place at a time when garbage is being burned in the neighbourhood. This, so that they will experience first hand the consequences of their inactivity in stopping this disgusting practice.

It would also help, if they, in the meantime, try and imagine what it is like for the residents of parts of our estate who have to on a daily basis, inhale this acrid smoke with minimum of ventilation in our houses and when some of us are suffering from colds and horrible bronchitis like coughs, too. Maybe, we should take the 3 mentioned above outfits to task, officially, for letting our complaints fall on deaf and uncaring ears.

Oh, but I forgot - that our Municipal Council has scant regard for the rule of law or respect for it and it seems that NEMA is also following in it's lawless footsteps.

Despite having talked to umpteen numbers of NEMA officials both in their Nairobi head office and locally, NOTHING is being done about the issue and the garbage burners in our midst are insolently doing this every single day anytime of the day or night! Of late, it's been happening during the lunch hour.

So, could you all please, accept my invitation to experience what it feels like to inhale garbage burning right outside your living quarters? And it will be a special 'treat' if some of you are suffering from a bout of cold, 'flu and coughs, too! Let's see how you like it. Not to mention the muck that will dirty the house/s just after you've cleaned up.

Re: Burning garbage... and the forthcoming ASK Showground racket

Since, my email of yesterday and my talk on the phone with Mr. Wemali, I've had very little encouraging news to report regarding NEMA's action on this matter.

In fact, when I could not get either Mr. Wemali or Mr. Bakari Mangale to take action on the matter, I was compelled to call NEMA's head office in Nairobi. I was finally put through to a Mr. Reagan Awino who in turn gave me the Provincial Director's cell phone number and email address. When I called him, I found that he was on leave but, he smsed me a Mr. Shimba's number.

The final outcome of all these calls was that, nothing could be done today till Mr. Shimba consults with Mr. Bakari tomorrow. In fact, Mr. Shimba did scant little when I had called him the first time earlier in the afternoon, it seems. It was when, I called him again around sunset when clouds of smoke started emanating from the same plot and enveloping the whole area, that I was told that we in this neighbourhood  would have to spend another night inhaling this obnoxious air. I was and am thoroughly disgusted with the way NEMA works..... or rather it does not, in fact. My parting sentence to Mr. Shimba was that I would pass out IF NEMA would do it's work effectively and promptly hung up!

Btw, I think I know what might have miffed Mr. Shimba off. When I requested that they (NEMA), should also, while there's ample time, to look into the forthcoming ASK Show in August and the racket that the residents of Nyali and part of the Island of Mombasa are unwillingly treated to every year. This year, it will also be Ramadhan, then. He was not in the least sympathetic and told me that they have every right to do this since it's a National event. Doesn't matter that there is a NEMA law against noise which says that it should not be heard beyond a distance of 30 metres. This ASK Showground racket is heard for kilometres around!

I have now requested some other people to take up this challenge and I hope and pray that they will be more successful and we, in this neighbourhood, will not have to inhale muck which is highly dangerous to our health.

Burning garbage...

As I write this, most of our estate is enveloped in smoke since 7.15 pm and it is still going on!

I have tried calling Mr. Ben Wemali of NEMA, and when he finally answered, I was told that they are going to do something about it tomorrow. So, till then we spend most of tonight inhaling acrid smoke.

NEMA had, we thought, put a stop to this regular practice last year, but, it would seem that the owner of the plot has gone back to burning what his people dump in that empty plot next to our estate. And since, I took pictures of what they do in the daytime, last year and 'shared' them with the media among others, he/she has taken to setting fire to the collected garbage under cover of darkness.

Of course, our useless Council is also to blame since they do not collect garbage on a regular basis and Mombasa has now got itself the reputation of being one of the dirtiest and stinking 'cities' in the entire country! Starting from the Airport (imagine this from the tourist point of view), as we cross the Makupa Causeway, among the first things that one notices is the traffic chaos, and then a stench assailing our olfactory senses. This comes courtesy of Kibarani.

Heading further afield into town or after crossing the Nyali bridge, people encounter another 'interim' dump site this time courtesy of our Council, on the Mombasa/Malindi road. Again, there is also the chaotic traffic which is also highly noisy.

I'm sure our foreign  visitors think that this place looks like a proper banana republic of their imagination. Where anything goes and no applicable law is apparent to them.

If our officialdom has no care about the residents and the kind of lives they are compelled to live, shouldn't they at least be thinking of the fact that Coast Province, in particular Mombasa is a great tourist attraction? And therefore, clean it up physically and also it's act?

I am wondering if NEMA and it's representative in the form of Mr. Ben Wemali will keep his promise of dealing with the latest environmental 'enemy', that I have reported. They should also inform the public on how to deal with uncollected garbage without setting it on fire.

Re: FW: Parking nightmare in Mombasa

I was forwarded the following by a good friend and asked to comment on it. I've written about the road and traffic of Mombasa many times as well as about parking issues and the questionable charge that our Council has come up with.

There truly is a shortage of parking in this cramped little island of ours and having unruly drivers, especially of tuk tuks and matatus, makes things worse. These, abide by no traffic law and their only aim is to get to wherever they are going in the shortest possible time and route. To hell with other road users.

Regarding the parking, or lack of it, is the responsibility of our redoubtable Council. They have nothing like town planning up their sleeves and don't even think about the welfare of the citizens of this town when allowing structures to come up on road reserves, facilitating PSVs while inconveniencing other private vehicles to take very roundabout routes to get somewhere which is also in a pathetic condition, letting noisy religious buildings like mosques and halls turned into churches all over the place, letting mkokotenis park all over the place thereby decreasing the already few parking spaces. The only thing our Council is interested in is collecting money and since the mkokoteni guys pay 'parking' fees or whatever to the Council, they promptly wash their collective hands regarding the thought that they are supposed to give to facilitate business in the CBD.

To them it matters little nor do they care, if the business community which pays for their salaries, that they are supposed to encourage the smooth running of the town and the citizens who are running businesses and also the ones who shop and/or go about for whatever purpose to town.

Heavy trucks, trailers and other heavy vehicles are also allowed within the CBD which adds to the chaos, jams and frustration. These have no business being there. Why are these allowed into the CBD? Our town roads are not made for such heavy traffic. Should not the traffic police be doing something about this?

The resultant chaos and mess will require the rearranging of attitudes and brains. I wonder if our Council is at all capable of this.....

About the water, power, garbage, etc., is concerned, I've written many emails about these, too, which can be read at my blog whose address is in the signature line at the bottom of this email.

------ Forwarded Message
From: "Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, MSA" <info@kenyachamber.co.ke>
Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:57:26 +0300
To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@alfakenya.com>
Subject: Parking nightmare in Mombasa

Dear sir/Madam,

Vehicle parking in Mombasa is a nightmare to many who have made an attempt to drive around town for business. The problems range from irregular allocation of parking slots, inhuman treatment of motorist by the KAPS staff, clamping of vehicles unnecessarily, vandalism of vehicle parts in full view of KAPS staff and many more.

Our initial efforts to get some of the issues addressed were fruitless because it is currently not clear who is managing parking in the town because the council and KAPS are fighting through the courts for control of the service. As a result there is no harmony in the management of traffic and more so parking in Mombasa. This has left the business community members operating in the CBD to lose business because no one want to come for shopping in the town with his or her car.

In view of the above, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mombasa Branch plans to hold a brain storming session with the business owners and stake holders on the way forward that can minimise the losses in business. We therefore wish to invite you to send your comments in advance as we prepare for this important meeting to be incorporated in chamber's position paper on traffic and Parking problems in Mombasa. The date and venue of the meeting will be communicated to you soon. Views on any other issue affecting you in your business such as oil prices, Electricity supply, water etc are also welcome.

The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also giving you a golden opportunity to establish new contacts, network and market your products and services by partnering with her in implementing the schedule activities and projects herein attached. To partner with Chamber on any of the scheduled programmes and projects feel free to contact us by email, phone or pay us a visit at our office which is situated at Kizingo, Mombasa.

We also appeal to those who are not members yet or have not renewed their membership to do so by filling the attached form and returning it to us with the amount due depending on your category.

Thanking you in anticipation of your support in creating a business friendly environment to do business in Kenya.

Yours faithfully,



James N.Mureu
Chairman, Mombasa Branch
National Director, Exports and Tourism Committee
Email: chairman.msa@kenyachamber.co.ke








------ End of Forwarded Message

How do you say "OH S**T" in Chinese ?

While the following looks disgusting and laughable (only because the block is not occupied), and not so laughable and worse is happening in this country.

Our Town Planners, if they are planning anything responsible and livable, pass highly dangerous plans whose product is questionable and quite unlivable at best.

The buildings that they allow to be put up are substandard and never a thought is given as to the kind of surroundings where they are going to be put up. No thought is given to recreation or play areas for children, yet we have the majority of our population which is very young. Every available space, even the required 7 feet or more between buildings is taken over. In the process we will soon be having no greenery and shady areas in our towns and suburbs - just a questionable and unplanned ugly concrete jungle.

While the rest of the world is trying to be eco-friendly our Town Planners give little thought to such things other than their capacious and corrupt pockets. If all the recipients of this email will cast a glance around their respective neighbourhoods, they will be able to see what I mean.

In fact, I have countless such structures coming up all around mine and despite reporting this matter to NEMA and our Physical Planners, it has made not a jot of difference and the structures continue to be built with total disregard for other neighbours and the environment and nobody raising a voice or a finger to correct this.

We do have the most corrupt and selfish lot out there.....

Unfortunately, the pictures below don't show in the blog but, when you read the comments, you'll probably understand what happened to that building......, I hope.

How do you say "OH S**T" in Chinese? Anyone who bought an apartment here sure has a problem. Talk about a collapsed market! YES, IT'S An ENTIRE 13-STORY BUILDING IN CHINA LYING ON THE GROUND. (1) An underground garage was being dug on the south side of the building, to a depth of 4.6 meters (15 ft). (2) The excavated dirt was being piled up on the north side of the building, to a height of 10 meters (32 ft). (3) They dug right up to the base of the building. Then the rains came. (4) The building experienced uneven lateral pressure from north to south. (5) This resulted in a lateral pressure of 3,000 tonnes, which was greater than what the un-reinforced pilings could tolerate. Thus, the building toppled completely over in a southerly direction. *First, the apartment building was constructed.* Then the plan called for an underground garage to be dug out. The excavated soil was piled up on the other side of the building. *Heavy rains resulted in water seeping into the ground.* The building began to tilt. Then it began to shift, and the "hollow" concrete pilings were snapped due to the uneven lateral pressures. And thus was born the eighth wonder of the world. If these buildings were closer together, it would have resulted in a domino effect. Notice that there's NO rebar in the pilings! Just some wire mesh. They built 13 stories on grade, with no basement, and tied it all down to hollow pilings with no rebar. Brought to you by the same folks that make your kids' toys and want to build your next car. Now that, folks, is a true snafu. Don't you feel better now that these are the folks that manufacture nearly EVERYTHING we buy and use today? One more product "MADE IN CHINA"...!

Traffic jams....

Some time back, I had promised to write this email about the traffic

jams, especially in the Nyali area but this one covers the ones in
Mombasa and environs.

Within Mombasa proper, the jams are mostly created by narrow roads and
total lawlessness practiced not just by vehicles, big and small which
are increasing in number on a daily basis, but, suicidal pedestrians who
never look left or right before setting foot in the path of an oncoming
vehicle.

Unfortunately, most of our road reserves have been allocated by our
useless Council to politically correct individuals and they have been
built upon, so much that it is going to be something next to impossible
to remove the structures without a mini riot. Everything in this country
is politicized beyond belief!

Right, to get back to the jams.... As the roads cannot be increased or
widened, but new vehicles keep increasing with no regulation about
where, which ones can or cannot go, is another case in point. Take for
example, encountering a huge trailer, lorry or any such monster on an
Old Town lane. There's hardly any room for this monstrosity to maneuver,
but, they trudge along by hook or by crook and there's nothing or nobody
to stop this from happening. To add to this, these town centre roads
have not been built to take the load of such heavy vehicles nor is the
drainage system (non-existent, in fact), capable of draining excess
water from the roads. The combination of heavy loads and faulty or
questionable drainage systems, lead to huge pot-holes even in, on and
around bumps which are of a variety of width and height. There are no
standards that are have been followed and they have been 'planted' all
over the place indiscriminately.

One wonders why the Council puts up these bumps when it cannot fix the
roads. Drivers would have to be very drunk or stark raving mad to speed
on such roads, anyway. Therefore, officialdom should either keep roads
in good repair or remove the bumps. The presence of both creates ROAD
RAGE, especially when one takes into account the kinds of other
irritants that road and side-walk users have to put up with.

Our public transport is one of the most unruly imaginable and they
follow even fewer rules of the road than the general public. They give
wrong signals or none and expect that everybody around them is gifted
with reading their pea-brains except themselves. First, it was just the
matatus that people had to put up with, but now, tuk tuks have added to
the insanity. These two breeds are totally selfish and nuts. Add to this
breed, the learner drivers who have proliferated every nook and cranny
of town and environs. I don't know what these people are taught, but,
immediately that these learners get their licenses and get behind a
steering wheel they forget, if they have ever been taught and passed
their tests legally, all the road rules and become as insane or over
cautious as the others. They add to the insanity on our roads. No
regulation here, either.

Cyclists are very scary, too. They ride under atrocious conditions and
it must be a nightmare for them to ride their bikes. I truly pity them,
but, they really should also abide by traffic rules. They don't.

Next, are the mkokotenis, for whom one really sympathizes for the loads
that they push to earn their daily bread, but, they too behave
insolently towards other road users and are sometimes like runaway
buffaloes around slopes and God help anybody to gets in their way. They
are totally uncontrollable.

Then, there are the herds of goats in town with no visible person who
tends to them. One gets a sneaky feeling that the Council has
deliberately distributed them around town to deal with overflowing
garbage! Unfortunately, the owners of the goats have not taken the time
to make their charges urban set-up friendly and the poor goats are under
the mistaken impression that they are still moving in a rural setting
where they can roam wherever they like without hindrance and take their
time in doing so, too.

Talking about goats, brings another farm animal into the picture - the
cows! People who live in Nyali must have noticed that not only is there
only one access road to the North Coast of Mombasa, the Nyali bridge and
all of the above mentioned hindrances to them making their way into or
out of town frustrating, but, there is a herd of cows which appear off
and on on the Nyali road between the turn off for Mkomani and the turn
off for Nakumatt Cinemax. This afternoon they were calmly chewing cud
outside the entrance to the Fishette and other restaurants and offices
in that building. These animals get into the road either to sit or cross
causing traffic jams. I wonder whom they belong to....?!

Are all these goats and cows allowed where they are found? Maybe, they
belong to somebody who has a connection with some politician. After all,
there is no rule of law in this country which politicians or a person
close to them is bound to follow. They can and have been known to break
any law that suits their purpose. The rest of the country can go jump in
the nearest body of water for all they care.

During the rainy season, the pot-holes increase in leaps and bounds. So,
everybody who uses these roads have to be very careful where they put
their foot or wheel. Of course, the people responsible for the
maintenance of these roads and who collect millions everyday in road and
fuel levy are very averse to fixing their shoddily built roads and they
need to be taught a lesson, by people suing them for damages either to
their persons or their vehicles. It is like adding salt to wounds.
First, these crooks collect huge amounts of money from the citizens,
i.e. road users in taxes and then their work or lack of it, causes
injury. Is this justice?

In fact, there is not a single new road that has been built since
Independence in Coast Province, especially the second largest town in
the country and a main Port, Mombasa. What are these people doing with
all the money that they collect everyday? So much of it is from Coast
Province and in particular Mombasa. Why isn't all this put back into
improving this historical town? Anybody out there who will take
responsibility for all this mess?

Fwd: Emailing: Both of these are enveloping the neighbourhood in clouds of acrid smoke, Next to the previous site within a few meters another pile is lighted up, Somebody burning garbage, etc.

On a related note to my just sent email with pics about dumping of garbage, we have our own highly environment unfriendly and ignorant neighbours, in Nyali. Of course, this species is all over town and its environs.

Since our Council is highly lethargic, selective and ineffective in collecting and disposing off garbage, one of the options most people think they have is of burning the offending stuff! In the process, neighbourhoods and houses are enveloped in unhealthy smoke, like we were (and it's done on an irregular basis every so often), in our neighbourhood late this afternoon.

This is highly environmentally unhealthy as well as very dangerous to inhale not to mention the fact that the smell stays in our houses long after the dump has finished burning.

Some estates also have a policy of burning their garbage and they couldn't care less about the effect it has on the residents.

Why can't we re-cycle and/or classify our garbage and have it disposed off in a more healthy manner. For this we need our Council's support and this is where everything goes awry. Our Council is mostly populated with semi and illiterates who are busy working for their personal bottomless pockets' benefit and therefore it is a very uphill struggle to get them to cooperate effectively.

I again tried getting the Local Authorities email address from the Kenya Government website, but, to no avail. They don't display one. Again, one can quite understand why since they are scared of getting deluged with countless emails from frustrated citizens. In fact, while they have a list of all the Councils' so-called urls. When you click on the Mombasa one, you will get nowhere! They only exist as an url which is not surprising since I have mentioned many times, they are not living and working in the 21st Century!

Regarding the above pictures see below...

Both of these are enveloping the neighbourhood in clouds of acrid smoke

Next to the previous site within a few meters another pile is lighted up

Somebody burning garbage, etc.

More details of the first dump site, The bigger dump site - 3rd pic, The bigger dump site - 4th pic, The first dump site on the Mombasa-Malindi Road, The second and bigger dump site - 2nd pic, The second and much bigger dump site - 1st pic, The

I took the attached photographs this afternoon when I went to collect my
copy of the proposed constitution of Kenya from friend's office on the
Mombasa/Malindi Road.

The filth and disorder that hits you is unbelievable, yet people liveand
work along that road. It seems that our local authorities are theones
who have created the larger dump site and the people who live and work
around there have followed suit and created the first and smaller dump
site. Since, a very bad example is set by our officialdom, is it any
wonder that people and especially the poor pay scant attention and care
about the environment that they are compelled to live in?

I have been told that the bigger dump site is used by our Council
garbage trucks who instead of going all the way to Mkrunge where they
are supposed to dump garbage, these people have now started creating and
depositing filth at any place they find unoccupied. And their trucks
still go to dump garbage at Kibarani.

But on the way, since they don't effectively cover their trucks, they
end up re-distributing garbage all over town on their way to wherever
they are taking it. They also drive at break-neck speed and behave
insolently by stopping any and everywhere being a hindrance to a smooth
flow of traffic. Since they are bigger than the average car, nobody will
'argue' with them and put up with their intimidation.

Now, to come back to this huge area where garbage is dumped. As you can
see it attracts human and animal scavengers and there are houses right
next to the dump. It matters not to our useless and totally thuggish
Council that tax and rate paying citizens are living and working all
around in the most inhuman environment.

Maybe, they might give serious thought to the fact that tourists on
their way to anywhere North of Mombasa must be quite 'impressed' with
the way our nasty and filthy Council deals with garbage disposal.
Imagine the impression of tourists who have just set foot on Kenyan
soil, i.e. the airport which is deceptively 'modern'. They will get into
their tour buses and cars and be driven on the only access road onto the
Island of Mombasa along the Makupa Causeway. While on it, they will be
assailed by a horrible stench from the garbage dump at Kibarani. What a
smelly welcome!

Then, they will be assailed by totally crazy traffic and suicidal people
with some promoting things at ear-splitting levels. They will find
welcome relief from all this insanity once they get to their hotels, of
course, but, getting there is very interesting and exciting. For
example, for those going further North, they will cross the only access
road the Nyali bridge, to the North mainland. Here, depending on the
time of day, they will spend hours stuck in traffic, before they can
carry on.

After this experience, their noses will again be assailed by stench like
the previous Kibarani one that welcomed them into Mombasa. Yes, you have
guessed it and the photographs say it all.

If our useless Council doesn't care about it's tax and rate payers,
shouldn't they give some serious thought to the tourists that they are
trying to create a good impression on? But, why should they give any
thought to anything or anybody? Since they have proved that they are
insolent in the extreme, short of getting rid of everybody in the
Council, there is very little that can be done to improve matters. They
practice impunity with little regard for their reputation or anything
and as far as Mombasa residents are concerned the place is populated by
horrible pests!

They are beyond help.

Emailing: The water at our estate gate, The smaller gate with the stepping stones, Water, water, everywhere..., The extent of the flooded road outside the gate, People who have to deal with the flooded road everytime it pours!, Despite stepping on the sto

The road leading off the main Nyali road to Umoja estate has been ruined by a combination of heavy vehicles, shoddy road building, no proper drainage and no legislation or rather, no practical application of the law.

Most roads are not built to take heavy traffic and with a lot of construction going on in the neighbourhood, there are countless trucks, water tankers, etc., using this road. Contractors can't be bothered about repairing what their vehicles have damaged nor does our equally incompetent Council, do anything much about the drainage problem.

About a month and a half ago, a gang from the Council showed up to clear a drainage hole and put a cover on it. Why they needed so many of them to fix one drain is anybody's guess, but, that's the way our Council works....., or doesn't. Since that day, nobody has showed up again to see the condition of the road. It has deteriorated and their drainage is not working, either.

We believe a number of complaints have gone to the Council whose responsibility it is to maintain and build this road, but, knowing our Council, they prefer to ignore complaints till one of them is involved in getting hurt due to their negligence or they are paid a bribe.

I also wonder how many millions our government is collecting every single day in fuel and road levy? Where are all the millions going? There are very few roads being built in Coast Province and Mombasa in particular, none! And why isn't there somebody overseeing the quality of the roads that are built or re-carpeted as well as the kind of drainage systems built with them, so that, the roads will not be ruined everytime we get torrential rains? What kind of shoddy workmanship do the powers that be allow?

The following are the comments for each picture, attached...

The water at our estate gate
Since the rainy season has started, the access road leading to our estate gets so flooded that it needs these pictures to bring home the agony of the residents and all the others who use this road. Especially the ones on foot.

The smaller gate with the stepping stones
Somebody has been good enough to put stepping stones for people to avoid walking in flood water.

Water, water, everywhere...
This is the potential rice field...

The extent of the flooded road outside the gate
The flooding goes beyond our gate which most people call the 'slum' area. This is where the majority of the poor and downtrodden live. They do not own cars nor does public transport go this far in. Therefore, these people have to deal with having to negotiate the flooding everytime it rains heavily.

People who have to deal with the flooded road everytime it pours!
While these people try to step on stones from the broken road, there is still the danger of them stepping into potholes and falling, injuring themselves. This, over and above ruining their clean clothes and imagine the mess they must put up with when they eventually get to wherever they are going. The school children, some of whom are very small also have to deal with the same things as the adults and they are worse off since they are small.

Despite stepping on the stones, this poor man still gets soaked!
The stones on which people can step to avoid the water, but, when it is raining, one just can't avoid getting drenched.