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.

Living conditions of Kenyans

A couple of weekends ago, Mwenda Njoka wrote a comment in the Weekend Star which really hit the nail on the proverbial head regarding residential areas and their deliberate and insensitive downgrading by our various Local Authorities all over the country, though his comments were only dealing with Nairobi and environs.

Unfortunately, this 'disease' of converting residential areas into commercial ones is an on going exercise by ALL local authorities countrywide. This results in the following...

1.    There are no quiet and peaceful areas anymore anywhere. Since commercializing an area means that everything and anything can and is allowed to sprout in the name of commerce in the middle of residential areas.

2.    This means that the infrastructure leading to residential areas, like roads, which were never meant for heavy commercial traffic, suffer the results of this. We get awful pot-holes which the road maintenance 'authorities' are very averse to fixing as soon as they are messed up.

3.    There is no regulation on the noise levels created by all of the above since everybody uses these so-called residential areas for everything under the sun. For example, tuk tuks and matatus and even some private cars, play loud and earsplitting levels of music at all hours of the day and night. Heavy commercial vehicles encroach and rev with resultant exhaust fumes pervading our houses nearly all the time.

4.    The mushrooming of sky scrapper buildings without any specific planning everywhere means that huge trucks carrying building materials are continuously plying our 'delicate' side roads degrading them. This also means, due to no planning, that these buildings block the light and air, etc., of others next to them. One would think that our town planners would make sure that things are planned in such a way in this day of environmental awareness that people can use the maximum of natural light and if structures are prefabricated, these heavy commercial vehicles supplying building materials would be to a minimum. Not to mention that houses, etc., would be more cost effective for the builder and the buyer, as well as environment friendly. But, do our policy makers even give a moments thought to such issues?

5.    We need lots of green open spaces for various reasons among which are places for children to play. Most of our residential areas and estates have none. Why?

6.    Instead, we have livestock sprinkled all over town and residential areas causing terrible traffic jams and questionable health issues.

7.    There is no enforcement of the amount of noise that can be allowed at anytime anywhere, including residential areas. Therefore, when the average Kenyan goes home expecting peace and quiet and to be able to relax, there is no such thing, as s/he is inundated by noise, air-pollution, etc. Even the children who need this peace and quiet more than anybody else to study, find none. And those are our future. Despite there being laws regarding noise and air pollution, NEMA rarely enforces this, even after such things are reported to them. Why?

8.    Since roads are not maintained and upgraded, all road users; yes, even pedestrians (who are in the majority), suffer the consequences, especially during the rainy season. When, we suffer some injury or damage to our person and vehicles, our road maintenance 'authorities' are never taken to task by being sued for damages. In this day of unbelievable expenses and despite paying road and fuel levy, very few roads are fixed or maintained. If anybody wants examples, please, contact me and I will show them 'live' examples. As I've mentioned countless times previously, Coast Province has a 'shortage' of any new roads built since independence and even the ones that are still there are not maintained in a timely manner. Only up-country roads are made and maintained. Why? We urgently need new roads down here, too, since Mombasa has been given a 'city' status ages ago, but, it is only in name. We also pay taxes, remember, by the millions every single day via road and fuel levy. Use it to give us better roads, please.

Re: Smoky neighbourhoods...

I just hope that the matter of burning garbage in my cousin's neighbourhood will be as expeditiously dealt with as a similar one that I had been experiencing last year in my own, in Mombasa, by NEMA.

This burning usually takes place under cover of darkness so that the miscreants will not be seen and known and identified. These people never give a thought to what their smoke does to the people living and/or working around. They are also highly ignorant and moronic people who practice this method of dealing with overflowing garbage with little regard for the environment, either. Of course, our various local authorities are equally to blame as they do not collect garbage efficiently and regularly for this NOT to happen. Why?

In Mombasa, our Council has a novel method of dealing with overflowing garbage and uncut grass. They let loose a few herds of livestock in the form of cows and goats who 'efficiently' go about toppling garbage cans and unmown grass all free of charge. Yes, these animals cause traffic jams, etc., but Mombasa residents have to deal with narrow roads, tuk tuks, matatus, mkokotenis, etc., anyway, so a few herds of livestock who are in the 'employ' of our local government can also be 'tolerated' since they are helping our Council try and keep the place 'clean'!!! It hardly ever works and we have informed our Council of this many times, but, who listens in that 'headquarters' of 'change'?

Best wishes with prayers,
Raziya

On 6/4/2011 12:11 AM, Dr Juzar Hooker wrote:

I write to you in desperation as my neighbours burn rubbish in their plots with impunity, often at night, resulting in severe distress to us, a veritable health hazard, a public nuisance, and environmental pollution. This is occurring off Eldama Ravine Road on an almost daily basis, in spite of requests to stop. I am sure NEMA would be interested in taking some long awaited action.

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

Our pathetic road network....

When it rains anywhere in our country, one of the first 'infrastructure' to suffer the consequences are our limited and questionable road network. While up-country roads are getting some attention from the various 'fixers', Coast Province and especially Mombasa (city?!), has not had a singe new road built to accommodate the rapid increase in traffic. In fact, nobody pays much attention to even maintaining what already exists!

Only when the damage to the road reaches a disastrous level will some short fix be applied. One of these short fixes is that a gang of Municipal workers arrive to supposedly 'clean' and 'unblock' the drains and then, sometimes a truck load of stones and other debris is brought to the scene of a huge pothole and emptied there. Of course, this just makes the problem worse because promptly that the next time we get a deluge in the form of rain, all that will quickly flow away and literally go down the same drain that had recently been 'unblocked' and the whole process will repeat itself and continue ad infinitum!!!

Everyday, since the rains started, I watch with sympathy all the road users outside our estate gate and the problems that the broken road and huge potholes create for everybody. The poor pedestrians, young and old, able and disabled have a truly hard time wading through all that water of various depth. Then, come the small saloon cars which are so low that at times the water goes into the cars through the doors and/or the engines. The 'owners' of our estate then compound problems by dumping huge stones into the potholes without thinking about the effect these will have on cars and the tyres. They are very big and sharp.

Then, despite this being a residential area, a shipping company has been allowed to open their offices next to our estate (Sea Bulk), which attracts all kinds of heavy vehicles which our already damaged road network cannot stand and they further damage the road.

Add to this, the countless water tankers that come and go along this road including entering our estate to deliver much needed water. Why? Because, our Water Board and Company are not providing the residents with much needed piped water. In fact, there is a huge commercial well/borehole at the turn-off from the main Nyali Road to our estate where lots of tankers are constantly filling up and the people to whom the borehole belongs do a booming business everyday supplying countless Mombasa residents with water. These, of course, due to the constant watery condition at that part of the road, is very damaged and nothing is done about it.

Why isn't there some kind of restriction regarding the traffic that is allowed onto certain roads leading to residential areas? Since, indiscriminate vehicles use this road, it is like living in an industrial area rather than a residential one. These buses, trucks, trailers, etc., are also allowed to hoot at all kinds of hours and rev to their hearts content.

About one and a half weeks ago, I called Eng. Munene who is in-charge of Urban Roads in Mombasa and he was good enough to come and see me and he experienced first hand the pathetic condition of the road outside our estate gate. It seems that while the Ministry of Works is supposed to build our roads, they still have to rely on our questionable and incompetent Council for the drainage along the roads. This, of course, creates a lot of problems since they have nothing planned which they can give to the various engineers who will fix our roads, in the way of drainage. Whatever was there in the first place built by the British, has already been made useless when making town roads was under our Council. They just resurfaced our roads without fixing the drainage and hence, we continue to suffer from awful roads everytime the rainy season starts and the 'drains' get blocked which in turn makes water collect which in turn damages our limited roads!!!

They (the Council), have been so incompetent and unprofessional when 'resurfacing' roads that they don't even raise the drainage covers to the same level as the roads so that people and cars don't lend in them.

Since we pay an arm and a leg every time we buy petrol in the form of road levy, etc., why are Mombasa roads not maintained and upgraded and more built to deal with the increasing traffic? Our government is literally collecting millions EVERY SINGLE DAY from just Coast Province residents in this manner so why isn't this money put back into fixing, maintaining and making new roads here? There is not a single new road built in Mombasa since independence.

And who is responsible for the damage and inconvenience these roads cause to people and vehicles? In any other 'civilized' countries the government and/or the Council is sued for damages. But, in our country where there is no accountability and justice, this is an unheard of thing, unfortunately.  This is very disgusting.

Re: Our inhuman POSTA!

'Evening!

I can tell from your response that you have not read my email properly. Didn't you read that whole paragraph below (I'm highlighting it for your benefit), where I've also explained how it would not be at all practical for me to keep changing box numbers everytime I move. And appreciated the fact that for a whole year, my mail had been forwarded to Mkomani at no extra cost?

While you (POSTA), is not responsible for traffic jams, it is expected that it would be more sensitive to people's problems - both financial and otherwise. And regarding postal services, you might listen, but, you do very little about solving those problems. If you remember, I was sitting right in your office on the day that my much awaited registered letter is stamped to have arrived at the GPO, but, when on leaving your office, I checked my mailbox, there was no notification there nor did your Head Postmaster, Mr. Ahmed, inform me of this while he too, was in your office. Instead, neither you nor I could even follow on the Internet what happened to this mail after it was put in the mailbag on the 27th of April 2011. In fact, when I finally asked you about the anomaly of the date of arrival, 4th May 2011 and the time it took for the notification to enter my box (10th May 2011), you found it quite difficult to explain. You told me, finally, that somebody in Nairobi had forgotten to swipe this number into the machine and hence, we could not follow it after the 27th of April 2011. When I asked you what you do to negligent people like these, you told me that you sacked them! I wonder if that actually happened.....?

So, with such postal 'services' what do you expect a user of your 'services' to do?

And please, after re-reading all of my email below, please think about what I've requested, again. Oh, btw, you make me sound like I consider myself a saint, but, again, if you re-read that email below, you'll find that I have admitted that I was really angry, frustrated and tired yesterday by the time I finally managed to see the supervisor.

Why does the mention and comparison of other postal services worldwide and that despite them delivering mail at your doorstep, they don't charge for that service, bother you so much since that is the first point you have made in your reply?

In fact, I am not asking for a free service, but, a considerate and understanding one since I already pay a very high rental on my box at the GPO and I don't even get so much mail in comparison which is why it shouldn't be such a bother for POSTA to redirect my mail to Mkomani. Please, re-read that highlighted bit, also. about why I cannot get a box at Mkomani, too.

You really don't sound like a person who is capable of understanding or sympathizing with another's problems and you, like many of your colleagues keep demanding that rules are rules without giving thought to anything else.

I would, again suggest, that you re-read what I have actually written without being in haste with your reply, next time.

Raziya

PS: Btw, my name is Raziya NOT Riya!



On 5/19/2011 6:45 PM, rpmcoast@posta.co.ke wrote:

Thanks Riya for your letter of complaint. I want to inform you that PCK does not offer free service. Am also wondering why you not mentioning that despite this fact we have been redirecting your mails at no extra cost for one whole year! Yesterday i informed you that there was mail for you in your box after you had made an inquiry and the next thing I heard from you telling me is that you were stuck in the jum and you were cursing posta! Does posta controll the flow of traffic? Then you came to the post office and made alot of noise at the counters. That type of behavior is not good. If you have a problem we have always listened. We advised you to transfer your box to mkomani where you stay and you have refused that your box has to remain at the mombasa gpo.This refusal implies that you want to be coming to gpo. Also note that there is nothing in record that you made any requests a part from writing so may e-mails coplaining about posta.   Please I would like to advise you that if you have any comlaints about the postal services we offer then direct them to us in writing and in a civil manner rather than coming to posta and screaming all over. We are ready to serve you better but these services must be within the reguations.                 

'Afternoon! 

Our postal 'services' are not only thoroughly inefficient and highly expensive, but, I've just discovered, they are completely inhuman, too.  The only thing that dictates their shoddy services is MONEY!!!! Nothing else besides for they can't even understand a person's many problems and not only refuse to help, but, the only thing they want one to do in these expensive, difficult and trying times is just pay them extra for any little request that one might ask of them.  As mentioned previously, POSTA has lost at least two of my letters since the beginning of the year and they have no explanation for this other than the reason that they were forwarding my mail to the Mkomani post office. Since I've moved in that area last year, the then, head post master, Mr. Khator, had been good enough to grant me this facility at no cost because getting a box in Mkomani would be a needless expense. For one, I would have to inform countless people of my change of address and since I'm retired/unemployed, disabled and hardly go into town, a needless and extra expense. Also, he knows about the disease that I suffer from and it's not always convenient for me to make my way all the way into town just for a couple of mail. Anyway, GPO is the one that sorts the mail and then delivers the relevant mail to the various post offices even all the way to Malindi.  Therefore, just including my couple of mails once in a while, one would understand, is not such a big issue. Also, I'm already paying an exorbitant rental for my small box at the GPO which one would think would cover any expense, if there was any, in forwarding my less than 10 mails a month to the Mkomani branch.  Well, since I made 'noise' about my missing mail (and this was not necessarily because the mail was being sent to Mkomani as my missing mail issues go back many years even when l lived in town), this year, suddenly everybody has started blaming the fact that I get my mail at Mkomani, as one of the reasons. This is NOT true! Also, when I went to see the Regional Manager two weeks ago regarding my current registered mail (from India), on the 4th of May 2011 and the attitude of his Head post master, Mr. Ahmed, I was told that it was 'illegal' for my mail to be forwarded in this manner to Mkomani and that it should be stopped forthwith! He was not ready to listen to any argument on WHY it was going to be totally inconvenient, expensive and frustrating to go all the way into the town centre to get my mail. The only thing they have done is allowed me to park in their 'yard'.  Yesterday, I crossed the Nyali bridge and if it wasn't for having to go all the way to the GPO, I would have saved myself countless amount of time and money if I hadn't had to go there. In fact, I wasted a lot of time getting through our horrible Mombasa traffic and then accessing the GPO's 'yard' was another time consuming exercise since the lane between Bima Towers and GPO has been closed off (one can only get up to the GPO 'yard'). There were already 3 vehicles there going in opposite directions! It took nearly half an hour before this snarl up was sorted out and I managed to park in the 'yard'.  When I tried to open my box, it wouldn't do so, so I had to walk some more from one counter to another trying to get the supervisor. Of course, by this time I was thoroughly frustrated and very angry for it was the 2nd time in two weeks that this post box key would not open my box.  By the time the Supervisor showed up, I was getting late and was quite tired of all this mess and inconveniences that our POSTA is the cause of and he was good enough to get my mail for me (had to wait some more....), and told me that the lock would need to be changed and that I should give them my two keys and they would do the needful and also apologized for this, thank God.  I tried calling Mr. Khator this morning but they have been in meetings since yesterday, it seems and one wonders what they discuss at these forums - probably how to fleece the renters as much as possible - for when I finally managed to talk to him over the lunch hour, this previously kind and understanding head post master has become like his superior and only talks about changing my box and/or charging me a whole rent of a box for me to be able to get my mail at Mkomani!  Why should I pay the equivalent of two mailboxes when I don't get enough mail in the one box to justify that rental? I cannot understand this needless expense as it's not as if POSTA was going to be making a special trip to Mkomani to deliver my mail IF any. My mail would be coming with the rest of the Mkomani mail. And even if I was to cancel the town mailbox and get one at Mkomani, what will happen if I again move back into town?  Btw, I have just been asking people who come from other countries where they get their mail delivered at home about how much they pay for that service. I was told that they don't pay anything! How strange that the majority of the countries of the world deliver mail to the addresses instead of shoving them into postal boxes where the renters have to pick it up, and yet, this service is free. Very interesting, indeed. And even if they are paying for this, it would be thoroughly worth it, I think.  So, isn't POSTA out to make a fast buck at the expense of their users? And they even consider it illegal to just forward a couple of mail to a branch neighbourhood post office? I wonder what would happen if a person got totally incapacitated and could not to go to pick up their mail from any of our questionable post offices? Oh, and if they are thinking of the answer that we should send somebody to do this for us, then, I have a further question - what if they were alone (like I am), and didn't have somebody to do this for them? Do our various 'service' providers ever think along these lines? In the current scenario, there is the needless expense and inconveniencing somebody to the point of irritation and frustration.  Raziya  

Our inhuman POSTA!

Our postal 'services' are not only thoroughly inefficient and highly expensive, but, I've just discovered, they are completely inhuman, too.

The only thing that dictates their shoddy services is MONEY!!!! Nothing else besides for they can't even understand a person's many problems and not only refuse to help, but, the only thing they want one to do in these expensive, difficult and trying times is just pay them extra for any little request that one might ask of them.

As mentioned previously, POSTA has lost at least two of my letters since the beginning of the year and they have no explanation for this other than the reason that they were forwarding my mail to the Mkomani post office. Since I've moved in that area last year, the then, head post master, Mr. Khator, had been good enough to grant me this facility at no cost because getting a box in Mkomani would be a needless expense. For one, I would have to inform countless people of my change of address and since I'm retired/unemployed, disabled and hardly go into town, a needless and extra expense. Also, he knows about the disease that I suffer from and it's not always convenient for me to make my way all the way into town just for a couple of mail. Anyway, GPO is the one that sorts the mail and then delivers the relevant mail to the various post offices even all the way to Malindi.

Therefore, just including my couple of mails once in a while, one would understand, is not such a big issue. Also, I'm already paying an exorbitant rental for my small box at the GPO which one would think would cover any expense, if there was any, in forwarding my less than 10 mails a month to the Mkomani branch.

Well, since I made 'noise' about my missing mail (and this was not necessarily because the mail was being sent to Mkomani as my missing mail issues go back many years even when l lived in town), this year, suddenly everybody has started blaming the fact that I get my mail at Mkomani, as one of the reasons. This is NOT true! Also, when I went to see the Regional Manager two weeks ago regarding my current registered mail (from India), on the 4th of May 2011 and the attitude of his Head post master, Mr. Ahmed, I was told that it was 'illegal' for my mail to be forwarded in this manner to Mkomani and that it should be stopped forthwith! He was not ready to listen to any argument on WHY it was going to be totally inconvenient, expensive and frustrating to go all the way into the town centre to get my mail. The only thing they have done is allowed me to park in their 'yard'.

Yesterday, I crossed the Nyali bridge and if it wasn't for having to go all the way to the GPO, I would have saved myself countless amount of time and money if I hadn't had to go there. In fact, I wasted a lot of time getting through our horrible Mombasa traffic and then accessing the GPO's 'yard' was another time consuming exercise since the lane between Bima Towers and GPO has been closed off (one can only get up to the GPO 'yard'). There were already 3 vehicles there going in opposite directions! It took nearly half an hour before this snarl up was sorted out and I managed to park in the 'yard'.

When I tried to open my box, it wouldn't do so, so I had to walk some more from one counter to another trying to get the supervisor. Of course, by this time I was thoroughly frustrated and very angry for it was the 2nd time in two weeks that this post box key would not open my box.

By the time the Supervisor showed up, I was getting late and was quite tired of all this mess and inconveniences that our POSTA is the cause of and he was good enough to get my mail for me (had to wait some more....), and told me that the lock would need to be changed and that I should give them my two keys and they would do the needful and also apologized for this, thank God.

I tried calling Mr. Khator this morning but they have been in meetings since yesterday, it seems and one wonders what they discuss at these forums - probably how to fleece the renters as much as possible - for when I finally managed to talk to him over the lunch hour, this previously kind and understanding head post master has become like his superior and only talks about changing my box and/or charging me a whole rent of a box for me to be able to get my mail at Mkomani!

Why should I pay the equivalent of two mailboxes when I don't get enough mail in the one box to justify that rental? I cannot understand this needless expense as it's not as if POSTA was going to be making a special trip to Mkomani to deliver my mail IF any. My mail would be coming with the rest of the Mkomani mail. And even if I was to cancel the town mailbox and get one at Mkomani, what will happen if I again move back into town?

Btw, I have just been asking people who come from other countries where they get their mail delivered at home about how much they pay for that service. I was told that they don't pay anything! How strange that the majority of the countries of the world deliver mail to the addresses instead of shoving them into postal boxes where the renters have to pick it up, and yet, this service is free. Very interesting, indeed. And even if they are paying for this, it would be thoroughly worth it, I think.

So, isn't POSTA out of make a fast buck at the expense of their users? And they even consider it illegal to just forward a couple of mail to a branch neighbourhood post office? I wonder what would happen if a person got totally incapacitated and could not to go to pick up their mail from any of our questionable post offices? Oh, and if they are thinking of the answer that we should send somebody to do this for us, then, I have a further question - what if they were alone (like I am), and didn't have somebody to do this for them? Do our various 'service' providers ever think along these lines? In the current scenario, there is the needless expense and inconveniencing somebody to the point of irritation and frustration.

96th, 97th, 98th, 99th, 100th, 101st,...... outages

Since the rains started, the number of outages in Nyali have increased. One wonders why...

In fact, when KPLC's 3 staff members attended our NCRRA meeting early this year, they promised that these outages would soon be a thing of the past and we even believed them, because for a while they did reduce.

But, now that the rains have started, and like everything else in this banana republic, all infrastructure somehow collapses, including an uninterrupted power supply. In fact, KPLC blames everything but it's questionable work.

For some reason, these excuses of a tree falling on their lines, a signboard touching their lines and short circuiting their lines, etc., have become a very common excuse and we are tired of hearing these recycled excuses. The reason being that it's strange that these same things don't happen so often during the dry spell. How come?

Btw, we the public are equally to blame, for we cut trees left, right and centre with complete abandon (especially in Coast province), put up buildings all over the place with no plan or thought about the neighbourhood and the various services it will require. In face, a while ago, a reporter friend of mine made a very interesting comment about Kenyans having a 'fear' of any green open space. As soon as they see one, they are out to buy and build on it and to hell with playing and recreational areas for the public. And that's where the tree cutting also comes in. Most of these people can't seem to stand a tree which is minding it's own business and giving cool shade to boot!

So, with all these 'interesting' crackpots among us, the KPLC has ample excuses for their power failures.

In fact, since morning we have had 3 - first was early in the morning which lasted nearly an hour, then, there was a fluctuation around 9.30 am and just now at 6.30 pm we had another outage of over half an hour. We are getting very tired of our various electrical equipment packing up on us. I think it's high time we took KPLC to task for the damages, don't you?

Nobody available.....

Of course, I will not be able to send this till such a time that I can go online with the Orange 3G modem.

Since the rains started, the couple of weeks of relief, regarding the signal on the modem where I stay which had improved, has gone back to being the way it was previously. We truly live in a typical banana republic as officialdom is NEVER available even if and when they claim that they will be during the holidays.

All of the people whom I have been trying to call are either not answering the phones or they have switched them off! In the meantime, my emails are accumulating.

Despite having told the various employees of Orange about their SMS balance enquiry number that it does not work and getting an assurance that they will do something about that, too, NOTHING has been done and we use their modem (when it works), in a fog. We have absolutely no idea how much balance still remains after every session of going online.

Why are the various 'service' providers in this country so irresponsible regarding their work. Have they no work ethic? They are some of the most infuriating people on earth!

When will something be done about the above mentioned modem problems?