Yes, I totally agree with this. Consider this:
When we remove the fuel cost charge, the Forex one, the ERC levy, REP Levy, the VAT, the actual consumption amount is less than half. We are paying so many 'phantom' and unaccounted amount of money to GoK, it's unbelievable!
We pay taxes on nearly everything imaginable and sometimes it's repeated umpteen numbers of times that it can go under the title of daylight robbery.
Sometimes I wonder if the govt. we have has any idea how the rest of the country is managing to even survive and the quality of life the citizens are supposed to lead. I would sound like we are more like the serfs of Victorian times who existed just so that the high and mighty, the minority of this land can wallow in obscene luxury!
These people make me SICK!
Raziya
Shaileen N.P.N Shah wrote at 10:52 AM:
Hello,
Please explain the following:<
1.Consumption of 5 units of Electrical power is 'valued' at 188.80?
2.Actual charge for consumption is 10.00 only!
What a 'RIP-OFF'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mr.Shaileen NPN Shah,MRPharmS
Most of the postings are to do with what an average Kenyan citizen has to deal with, in the country, to survive. They go through and are treated with a lot of injustice, where very few in 'officialdom', will take notice of their problems or even do anything about them. Hence, this blog and the belief in, 'One learned man is harder on the devil than a thousand ignorant worshipers' - Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Re: INEFFICIENCY,ENVIRONMENTLY unfriendly,etc., TELKOM KENYA!
This so-called 'privatized' company, still has the same old employees who are extremely insolent and slothful. I've, since early this year been visiting them, emailing them, etc., the same like you on behalf of friends of mine who are too busy and fed up to be frustrated by this company (in fact, EVERY service provider in this country is the same way), but, they are still waiting for their phone line to be relocated to their new house which is less than 500 meters from where they used to be.
But, till today, NOTHING has been done nor have these people even called or visited the place, i.e. given them a feedback as to WHY, their landline has not and cannot (it would seem), be relocated. After all their neighbours all have landlines except them! So, it's not going to be a 'rocket' science for Telkom Kenya to move their line, will it?!
This company or rather it's employees are totally impervious, inefficient and insolent in the extreme. In fact, they tried to pass the buck to me when the last time I went there and saw the Regional Manager, Mr. Kamande who is hardly ever available but that day I managed to see him, when he accused me without cause of having tried to bribe somebody there, etc., and tried intimidating me by saying that it was a grave offense.
Why should I have tried to bribe anybody there, since; first, I have NEVER ever paid a bribe to our officialdom or anybody for that matter to get something done and in the process I get frustrated at every turn!
Second, this was not my personal issue anyway but was doing a favour for a friend and therefore, why should I spend my money to pay a bribe should I have been so inclined?
Third, till today, this line has not been moved. Why? Nobody, including Mr. Kamande, can and is ready to answer this vital question. Why?
We live in a very crooked, unjust and unaccountable country where nothing and hardly anybody has the integrity, morals, professionalism, etc., to follow through on their work in a responsible manner. The ones who are there, are outnumbered by thugs, who eclipse the good work done by the few....., in fact, they sometimes undo it!
Shaileen N.P.N Shah wrote:
Hello Francis,
As per telephone conversation,please find my formal complaint:(communicated to TELKOM's previous RM's with NO ACTION!)
July'08 Telephone Bills(3) sent by seperate covers! WHY?
My Company has 3 phone nos registered in its name:2491467,2490049 and 2224954! Every month we recieve 3 seperate covers(paying extra to POSTA!),when only one could have sufficed! WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY,PAPER,TIME,ETC!!????????
This is NOT the 1st time we have CONSTRUCTIVELY Complained by phone,email,etc.,with the 'USUAL' NON- ACTION! HOW WILL TELKOM KENYA survive in a highly 'competative' field? Mind boggles!
ps. If your so called managers cannot increase EFFICIENCY,please sack them 'cause there are approx.7million Kenyans unemployed!!
4aBETTER; EFFICIENT KENYA!
sincerely
Mr.Shaileen NPN Shah,MRPharmS
HARDELECT Co Ltd
But, till today, NOTHING has been done nor have these people even called or visited the place, i.e. given them a feedback as to WHY, their landline has not and cannot (it would seem), be relocated. After all their neighbours all have landlines except them! So, it's not going to be a 'rocket' science for Telkom Kenya to move their line, will it?!
This company or rather it's employees are totally impervious, inefficient and insolent in the extreme. In fact, they tried to pass the buck to me when the last time I went there and saw the Regional Manager, Mr. Kamande who is hardly ever available but that day I managed to see him, when he accused me without cause of having tried to bribe somebody there, etc., and tried intimidating me by saying that it was a grave offense.
Why should I have tried to bribe anybody there, since; first, I have NEVER ever paid a bribe to our officialdom or anybody for that matter to get something done and in the process I get frustrated at every turn!
Second, this was not my personal issue anyway but was doing a favour for a friend and therefore, why should I spend my money to pay a bribe should I have been so inclined?
Third, till today, this line has not been moved. Why? Nobody, including Mr. Kamande, can and is ready to answer this vital question. Why?
We live in a very crooked, unjust and unaccountable country where nothing and hardly anybody has the integrity, morals, professionalism, etc., to follow through on their work in a responsible manner. The ones who are there, are outnumbered by thugs, who eclipse the good work done by the few....., in fact, they sometimes undo it!
Shaileen N.P.N Shah wrote:
Hello Francis,
As per telephone conversation,please find my formal complaint:(communicated to TELKOM's previous RM's with NO ACTION!)
July'08 Telephone Bills(3) sent by seperate covers! WHY?
My Company has 3 phone nos registered in its name:2491467,2490049 and 2224954! Every month we recieve 3 seperate covers(paying extra to POSTA!),when only one could have sufficed! WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY,PAPER,TIME,ETC!!????????
This is NOT the 1st time we have CONSTRUCTIVELY Complained by phone,email,etc.,with the 'USUAL' NON- ACTION! HOW WILL TELKOM KENYA survive in a highly 'competative' field? Mind boggles!
ps. If your so called managers cannot increase EFFICIENCY,please sack them 'cause there are approx.7million Kenyans unemployed!!
4aBETTER; EFFICIENT KENYA!
sincerely
Mr.Shaileen NPN Shah,MRPharmS
HARDELECT Co Ltd
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Religious and incessant other noise - the 33rd reminder - continuously surrounded by NOISE and harassment by neighbours!!!
Since last Thursday night as well as every weekday lunch times and Sundays, too, we have to contend with various types of noise in this neighbourhood.
The neighbourhood mosque and the many churches including the little one within the grounds of MWA Hall and right next to the Aga Khan Hospital make noise.
The mosque with it's loud (unnecessarily so), call to prayer early in the morning around 5.15 am and then, the equally loud and again unnecessary conduction of prayers from the public address system. Then, comes 12.30 pm and the weekday lunch time 'service' at the MWA Hall starts and it is also pathetically LOUD! While this is going on, the mid-day call to prayer is given at the mosque and soon after the leading of prayers through the PA system.
At the same time there are hordes of various members of the public who arrive near a lean-to 'kibanda' downstairs, put up by one of my neighbours who is running an eatery whose 'patrons', young and old, seem to derive a lot of pleasure with the encouragement (I suspect), of these neighbours, keep setting off my car alarm. One wonders why? The only reason I can think of is to deliberately harass and inconvenience me. Why? What kind of warped minds are these? Even as I write this, somebody set it off and by the time I went to the balcony, they'd disappeared.... What kind of sick mind would derive pleasure from giving another neighbour who is disabled (me), to keep having to check on the car everytime the alarm is set off. After all it's not too long ago, when, my car was smashed up by some person or persons unknown and the alarm had kept going on and on, yet, none of my neighbours did anything about it. Strange!
While these people profess to be Muslims and consider themselves to be religious (whatever that means according to their vocabulary), one wonders, what their particular interpretation of Islam is?
Then again, it's these same kinds of Muslims who, when they hold weddings at the MWA Hall in the night, have scant regard for the fact that this is a residential area with sick and very critically ill patients at the hospital next door. They have their music, etc., playing so loud that we get no rest and till all hours of the night, too. And this time, it's been that way every night since last Thursday. Yesterday, too, there was another noisy one there and only God knows about tonight and the rest of the week, etc.
Who allows these things to be held within residential areas? Does this 'official/s' have any sense? I don't believe s/he does! We, as a country, have truly become the most lawless and insolent lot, haven't we? At times, I believe that we're beyond help!
The neighbourhood mosque and the many churches including the little one within the grounds of MWA Hall and right next to the Aga Khan Hospital make noise.
The mosque with it's loud (unnecessarily so), call to prayer early in the morning around 5.15 am and then, the equally loud and again unnecessary conduction of prayers from the public address system. Then, comes 12.30 pm and the weekday lunch time 'service' at the MWA Hall starts and it is also pathetically LOUD! While this is going on, the mid-day call to prayer is given at the mosque and soon after the leading of prayers through the PA system.
At the same time there are hordes of various members of the public who arrive near a lean-to 'kibanda' downstairs, put up by one of my neighbours who is running an eatery whose 'patrons', young and old, seem to derive a lot of pleasure with the encouragement (I suspect), of these neighbours, keep setting off my car alarm. One wonders why? The only reason I can think of is to deliberately harass and inconvenience me. Why? What kind of warped minds are these? Even as I write this, somebody set it off and by the time I went to the balcony, they'd disappeared.... What kind of sick mind would derive pleasure from giving another neighbour who is disabled (me), to keep having to check on the car everytime the alarm is set off. After all it's not too long ago, when, my car was smashed up by some person or persons unknown and the alarm had kept going on and on, yet, none of my neighbours did anything about it. Strange!
While these people profess to be Muslims and consider themselves to be religious (whatever that means according to their vocabulary), one wonders, what their particular interpretation of Islam is?
Then again, it's these same kinds of Muslims who, when they hold weddings at the MWA Hall in the night, have scant regard for the fact that this is a residential area with sick and very critically ill patients at the hospital next door. They have their music, etc., playing so loud that we get no rest and till all hours of the night, too. And this time, it's been that way every night since last Thursday. Yesterday, too, there was another noisy one there and only God knows about tonight and the rest of the week, etc.
Who allows these things to be held within residential areas? Does this 'official/s' have any sense? I don't believe s/he does! We, as a country, have truly become the most lawless and insolent lot, haven't we? At times, I believe that we're beyond help!
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
http://www.wbcsd.org/templates/TemplateWBCSD5/layout.asp?type=p&MenuId=MTUxNQ&doOpen=1&ClickMenu=LeftMenu
I've just tried sending the above url via the 'net to everybody, but, I don't know if it will be received. Therefore, I'm sending the link again. It has some very interesting and practical solutions to our on-going waterlessness!
And, I forgot to mention in my earlier (176th), reminder something that a very close friend had noted.
Immediately, that the MOWASCO Board was NOT launched by Hon. Mrs. Ngilu a couple of weeks ago, coincidentally, most of Mombasa and it's environs stopped getting water....., yes, even the water kiosks! Why? We suspect that the 'powers that be', who were very disgruntled by the Hon. Minister's very timely action, have been behind our woes. We suffered this for nearly 2 weeks!
Hence my repeated, of late, requests that all these politicians, other than the Minister concerned, involved in water delivery and by extension any other service provision, should be removed forthwith. We do NOT want every and especially water service delivery politicized and we'd also like all of the various outfits that have been given 'birth' too, by GoK, to be dismantled and want only one organization to deal with. This would include water infrastructure and delivery. Have everything very simplified so that our money can be easily accounted for as well as the people who DON'T do their work as required.
I believe this is not such a complicated issue for 'officialdom' to put into action. And I hope that everybody has not forgotten my Water Petition with it's over 900 signatures of nearly two years ago....?
I've just tried sending the above url via the 'net to everybody, but, I don't know if it will be received. Therefore, I'm sending the link again. It has some very interesting and practical solutions to our on-going waterlessness!
And, I forgot to mention in my earlier (176th), reminder something that a very close friend had noted.
Immediately, that the MOWASCO Board was NOT launched by Hon. Mrs. Ngilu a couple of weeks ago, coincidentally, most of Mombasa and it's environs stopped getting water....., yes, even the water kiosks! Why? We suspect that the 'powers that be', who were very disgruntled by the Hon. Minister's very timely action, have been behind our woes. We suffered this for nearly 2 weeks!
Hence my repeated, of late, requests that all these politicians, other than the Minister concerned, involved in water delivery and by extension any other service provision, should be removed forthwith. We do NOT want every and especially water service delivery politicized and we'd also like all of the various outfits that have been given 'birth' too, by GoK, to be dismantled and want only one organization to deal with. This would include water infrastructure and delivery. Have everything very simplified so that our money can be easily accounted for as well as the people who DON'T do their work as required.
I believe this is not such a complicated issue for 'officialdom' to put into action. And I hope that everybody has not forgotten my Water Petition with it's over 900 signatures of nearly two years ago....?
The 176th reminder.... to the PERSON/S CONCERNED - Take the Pledge! Break the Bottled Water Habit
The following is a campaign for NOT using bottled 'mineral' water due to it's environmental consequences and the alternatives that we can use instead of littering our already plastic laden landscape with more plastic bottles!
But, in this lawless and one-track minded country of ours, it's very difficult to apply as most of us don't get safe drinking water from our taps. Therefore, what are we supposed to do?
The following also gives those alternatives, so, please read and follow it's advice. Since our many 'outfits' are so very totally irresponsible about supplying us with safe water through our taps, we have very little alternative. But, even so, we can still reduce this menace of plastic water bottles and it's contents.
Till such time as 'officialdom' gets it's act together and decides to apply my suggestion of desalination at the Coast, we will have to endure their slow thinking processes and use the other alternatives that the fwd below suggests. I just hope that the powers that be, will 'think' along the right lines during my lifetime, though.... and de-politicize ALL service provision, too.
But, in this lawless and one-track minded country of ours, it's very difficult to apply as most of us don't get safe drinking water from our taps. Therefore, what are we supposed to do?
The following also gives those alternatives, so, please read and follow it's advice. Since our many 'outfits' are so very totally irresponsible about supplying us with safe water through our taps, we have very little alternative. But, even so, we can still reduce this menace of plastic water bottles and it's contents.
Till such time as 'officialdom' gets it's act together and decides to apply my suggestion of desalination at the Coast, we will have to endure their slow thinking processes and use the other alternatives that the fwd below suggests. I just hope that the powers that be, will 'think' along the right lines during my lifetime, though.... and de-politicize ALL service provision, too.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Religious and incessant other noise - the 32nd reminder - continuously surrounded by NOISE and harassment by neighbours!!!
Since Thursday night, as usual, there's been no let up in the noise emanating from MWA Hall.
The people who hire this hall have complete disregard for the residents in the area as well as the critically ill in the hospital next door. How selfish and lawless we have become?! And the cops who should know better, do nothing about all this noise when summoned.
Therefore, since Thursday night, we've had little sleep and rest in this neighbourhood and the noise still goes on in the form of religious noise.... even as I write, it has been going on since soon after 9.00 am.
Last night, too, there was some party going on at the hall which carried on and on, till way after 11.30 pm despite the cops going there to ask them to reduce the noise, these thuggish people, raised the volume immediately they were gone and also carried on way after the supposed specified time of 11.00 pm which is the 'allowed' time that whoever gives these permits seems to be under the impression, that we should go to sleep - not before. So, our bed-time is being dictated to us, young and old, sick or well, by these 'officials' who give out these questionable permits for nightclub like racket to go on in a residential area with two hospitals in the neighbourhood!
Then, early this morning, as usual, the mosque started it's prayer racket which is totally uncalled for since he's not leading the whole neighbourhood in prayer and it is therefore invalid for him to be heard outside. And now, as mentioned above since around 9.00 am this morning, the neighbourhood church/es, are making an awful racket. One gets the impression that this preacher is in extreme pain, the way he's moaning over the PA system!
And all this is so strange that these people who are going to these prayers, are some of the worst creatures in the country! For if they were really so God conscious would they immediately, that they come out of their various places of worship, harass others who have done them no harm or whom, they don't even know?
I'm talking about my many neighbours and their children, who profess to either follow Islam or Christianity. They persistently harass me by setting off my car alarm, keeping their jikos in such a way that all the smoke gets into my flat and making noise in general as well as dirtying the staircase.
It is so strange that on Friday, when I went down to drive to the mosque for prayers at about 11.30 am, I couldn't start the car due to the battery having gone flat thanks to these same neighbours and their children and workers who consistently keep setting off the alarm which runs the battery down. They were all standing around watching what I would do next and not one of them came to help, either. And I, like always, had to ring my mechanic up to come with jumper cables to help start the car. This took him over half an hour, during which time I was sitting in a hot car waiting and in the process nearly got late for prayers.
Are these people really God fearing? And ironically, the mosque in the neighbourhood started his loud recitation of the Holy Qur'an on the PA system. Do these people really know what our Holy Book says about neighbours and their treatment? I'm sure that they, like the so-called 'muslim' terrorists, seem to think they will go straight to heaven if they harass somebody who is different from them. Never mind that as far as I know, I've not done anything to them, but, they incessantly disturb me as much as they possibly, can.
Will officialdom ever take any positive action?
The people who hire this hall have complete disregard for the residents in the area as well as the critically ill in the hospital next door. How selfish and lawless we have become?! And the cops who should know better, do nothing about all this noise when summoned.
Therefore, since Thursday night, we've had little sleep and rest in this neighbourhood and the noise still goes on in the form of religious noise.... even as I write, it has been going on since soon after 9.00 am.
Last night, too, there was some party going on at the hall which carried on and on, till way after 11.30 pm despite the cops going there to ask them to reduce the noise, these thuggish people, raised the volume immediately they were gone and also carried on way after the supposed specified time of 11.00 pm which is the 'allowed' time that whoever gives these permits seems to be under the impression, that we should go to sleep - not before. So, our bed-time is being dictated to us, young and old, sick or well, by these 'officials' who give out these questionable permits for nightclub like racket to go on in a residential area with two hospitals in the neighbourhood!
Then, early this morning, as usual, the mosque started it's prayer racket which is totally uncalled for since he's not leading the whole neighbourhood in prayer and it is therefore invalid for him to be heard outside. And now, as mentioned above since around 9.00 am this morning, the neighbourhood church/es, are making an awful racket. One gets the impression that this preacher is in extreme pain, the way he's moaning over the PA system!
And all this is so strange that these people who are going to these prayers, are some of the worst creatures in the country! For if they were really so God conscious would they immediately, that they come out of their various places of worship, harass others who have done them no harm or whom, they don't even know?
I'm talking about my many neighbours and their children, who profess to either follow Islam or Christianity. They persistently harass me by setting off my car alarm, keeping their jikos in such a way that all the smoke gets into my flat and making noise in general as well as dirtying the staircase.
It is so strange that on Friday, when I went down to drive to the mosque for prayers at about 11.30 am, I couldn't start the car due to the battery having gone flat thanks to these same neighbours and their children and workers who consistently keep setting off the alarm which runs the battery down. They were all standing around watching what I would do next and not one of them came to help, either. And I, like always, had to ring my mechanic up to come with jumper cables to help start the car. This took him over half an hour, during which time I was sitting in a hot car waiting and in the process nearly got late for prayers.
Are these people really God fearing? And ironically, the mosque in the neighbourhood started his loud recitation of the Holy Qur'an on the PA system. Do these people really know what our Holy Book says about neighbours and their treatment? I'm sure that they, like the so-called 'muslim' terrorists, seem to think they will go straight to heaven if they harass somebody who is different from them. Never mind that as far as I know, I've not done anything to them, but, they incessantly disturb me as much as they possibly, can.
Will officialdom ever take any positive action?
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The 175th reminder.... to the PERSON/S CONCERNED
I'm doing this today, as tomorrow, I have to go to the Council about this rent issue. But, then, that's another topic with another header.
For now, my apologies for not being able to write this reminder last week, thanks to my whole schedule messed up by this same Council and the way it works......, or doesn't work.
We continue to spend days which are turning into months and then into years and further still into decades and if officialdom doesn't do something about all our woes, these decades will soon be turning into at least one century and then......?!
Now, I will continue to add another point to our water and sanitation issues - over and over, again till somebody out there listens and puts our wishes into action. We do not want ANY politicians of any kind anywhere near these two 'services', PLEASE. As we all know, these politicos only use such services for their own personal aggrandizements and manipulations. The only politician we will tolerate is the Minister, that's all! The others can go jump into the Indian Ocean. We can't stand them, for their information.
After this, can the Minister please, have another look at my petition of nearly 2 years ago with the over 900 signatures and really read it and think about the implications that are mentioned there?
If, all these outfits that have sprouted up in the so-called water provision sector, especially at the Coast Province, were to be disbanded, and then all the money saved thereby, invested in a desalination plant, Coast Province residents would be so very thankful to her for putting us out of our deteriorating misery.
Will and can the Hon. Mrs. Ngilu, please, do this for us? We beseech her. And please, keep the Council out of it, too. If, they cannot deal with just the garbage problem in this town, how dare they involve themselves with water provision?! Let them stay very far away. We're very fed up of them.
For now, my apologies for not being able to write this reminder last week, thanks to my whole schedule messed up by this same Council and the way it works......, or doesn't work.
We continue to spend days which are turning into months and then into years and further still into decades and if officialdom doesn't do something about all our woes, these decades will soon be turning into at least one century and then......?!
Now, I will continue to add another point to our water and sanitation issues - over and over, again till somebody out there listens and puts our wishes into action. We do not want ANY politicians of any kind anywhere near these two 'services', PLEASE. As we all know, these politicos only use such services for their own personal aggrandizements and manipulations. The only politician we will tolerate is the Minister, that's all! The others can go jump into the Indian Ocean. We can't stand them, for their information.
After this, can the Minister please, have another look at my petition of nearly 2 years ago with the over 900 signatures and really read it and think about the implications that are mentioned there?
If, all these outfits that have sprouted up in the so-called water provision sector, especially at the Coast Province, were to be disbanded, and then all the money saved thereby, invested in a desalination plant, Coast Province residents would be so very thankful to her for putting us out of our deteriorating misery.
Will and can the Hon. Mrs. Ngilu, please, do this for us? We beseech her. And please, keep the Council out of it, too. If, they cannot deal with just the garbage problem in this town, how dare they involve themselves with water provision?! Let them stay very far away. We're very fed up of them.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Response to your SMS, Shaileen...
I've just got this message from a friend living within a stone's throw of the offensively smelling (more like Kibarani), garbage can that the Council has insisted on keeping in this residential area of Ganjoni.
They (the Council), objected to the residents moving this bin to another location, last year, and even threated them with dire consequences if they did. How strange! Does the health and sanitation department of this outfit really work?
He's telling me that I should go past, in case I'm driving, to keep my windows open and get a little experience of what the residents go through the whole time - day and night. Not to mention that this attracts all kinds of pests - human and otherwise. For I have seen glue sniffing street boys uncaringly going into the bin and collecting things.
This is the case all over this town...., sorry city. Even, where I live which is ironically a Municipal Estate within metres of Aga Khan Hospital, there are two over flowing garbage bins which only get emptied once in a while. This too, attracts all the same pests as the one in question at Ganjoni and the crows, who have not been 'educated' about sanitation, pick things at these bins and redistribute this all over. Even in our balconies! After all they are not human and therefore don't know that those bins are for the purpose of throwing garbage. Can somebody from the Council, please, train these crows to throw their unwanted stuff back to where they picked it?!
As long as this Council does not deal with this garbage problem effectively, we will, by extension, keep suffering from the crow problem, too, since these are scavenger birds.
Add to this ,the persistent waterless state of this place where water kiosks are supplying the residents with water despite paying phantom bills, makes it interesting 'living' in such conditions and one wonders why this town was upgraded into a 'city'. In actual fact, it should have been downgraded into a very remote 'village' since, that's to which level our Local Authorities have taken us.
Razia.
They (the Council), objected to the residents moving this bin to another location, last year, and even threated them with dire consequences if they did. How strange! Does the health and sanitation department of this outfit really work?
He's telling me that I should go past, in case I'm driving, to keep my windows open and get a little experience of what the residents go through the whole time - day and night. Not to mention that this attracts all kinds of pests - human and otherwise. For I have seen glue sniffing street boys uncaringly going into the bin and collecting things.
This is the case all over this town...., sorry city. Even, where I live which is ironically a Municipal Estate within metres of Aga Khan Hospital, there are two over flowing garbage bins which only get emptied once in a while. This too, attracts all the same pests as the one in question at Ganjoni and the crows, who have not been 'educated' about sanitation, pick things at these bins and redistribute this all over. Even in our balconies! After all they are not human and therefore don't know that those bins are for the purpose of throwing garbage. Can somebody from the Council, please, train these crows to throw their unwanted stuff back to where they picked it?!
As long as this Council does not deal with this garbage problem effectively, we will, by extension, keep suffering from the crow problem, too, since these are scavenger birds.
Add to this ,the persistent waterless state of this place where water kiosks are supplying the residents with water despite paying phantom bills, makes it interesting 'living' in such conditions and one wonders why this town was upgraded into a 'city'. In actual fact, it should have been downgraded into a very remote 'village' since, that's to which level our Local Authorities have taken us.
Razia.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Re: Assistance - VERY URGENT!
What I have to narrate now, is further evidence of what an incompetent Council we have in this town....., sorry, city.
They might be computerized but, their brains and attitude are still some time in the early 20th Century...., long before anything digital was discovered.
The following is what they have been doing...
On the 29th July 2008, my maid, who was sweeping the stairs encountered a man who gave her two sheets of printed paper purportedly from the Council. One was for me and the other for my immediate neighbour. These are dated 28th July 2008. They are notices to us of 7 days within which to pay ridiculously high amounts which the Council claims are arrears in rent.
This claim is totally ridiculous, since, we've been paying our rent regularly and even in advance. Mine is paid up till December 2008! Therefore, how did we get into arrears with our rent? The claim written on the notice to me, is a rent in arrears of 13 months and the amount being, 30,000/-! That is the mega question which nobody can, it seems, satisfactorily answer.
In the company of a representative of the Coast Lobby Group, Mr. Bakari, I went to see the Director of Housing and Social Services at the Council. We showed her my receipts and the stress causing notice from her various minions and she too, claimed ignorance about the notice...., i.e. why I should be served with one considering I was paid up till the end of the year.
Therefore, she rang up somebody whom she addressed as 'Miriam' and asked her why I was served with such a notice since I had proper receipts from this same Council confirming my payment till December. Unfortunately, we couldn't make out what this 'Miriam', told her, but, the Director, later tried to explain that due to computer errors (one wonders if the computers at the Council are 'alive' and make the errors or the persons operating them who feed in questionable information!), they wanted me to go with all (and from personal experience the more the better, i.e. for as long ago as possible!), my receipts to the Tudor ex-rent collecting office and have them make a proper record of my various payments.
So, this morning, in the company of a Nation reporter, Mr. Bakari and a colleague of his, we all paid the Tudor office a visit. There, we spent quite lot of time, but after studying all my receipts from way back in 2006, we were told that I now owed the Council 13,925/-. When they were asked why, despite having paid up till December 2008, we were told that the rent had been increased to 2300/- from what I've been paying - 1375/-, per month.
Now, this is news to me, as nobody in my estate has been served with a written notice of one month as the tenant/landlord agreement states in 5b. Therefore, how can the Council claim any arrears? Or is this a warped kind of thinking on the part of the Council to try and legitimize it's rent hike by trying to tell us that they are trying to 'correct' computer errors....?!
Also, since they have given us receipts of the amount paid with no indication that we owed them any other amount, how can they claim that we're in arrears as they haven't even abided by their own agreement with us as referred to above. And then, this Council has the temerity to send us threatening notices of eviction if we don't pay up their trumped up arrears. They sound more like the mafia than a Local Authority.
Another point is that this Council as a landlord is not interested in anything but collecting money by fair means or crooked and in this case it's more crooked than fair. They have not maintained these flats since decades, yet, keep increasing the rent without giving due notices. All of the top floor flats are leaking and despite many complaints to them, they have done nothing to rectify this. Therefore, on what grounds are they increasing rent and this time by more than a 100%?!
They do nothing about the many breaches of the tenant/landlord agreement by my neighbours who are running businesses from their premises and also are disturbing and harassing me when I complain. They (the Council), breaks its own by-laws by allocating a road reserve to a private developer who 'developed' one-third of the plot into a block of flats which have subsequently been sold to individual buyers and the remaining two-thirds is being used as a truck, tractor, earthmover, garage, junk-yard, etc., whose gate is through the estate. These monstrosities, are revved at all hours for hours on end as well as they come and go at all hours of the day or night. When they want the gate to be opened by the resident watchman, they hoot with complete disregard of the time of night. And this is just one example. There are quite a handful of others...., just in this estate.
They have also allowed one of my neighbours to keep a glue sniffing street 'boy', to sleep under our staircase. Is this place on it's way to becoming a 'haven' for squatters? Why isn't the Council doing anything about all of these issues which I have complained about to them umpteen numbers of times in the past? Therefore, one can't help but, reach the conclusion that our Council is not in the least interested in improving services to the residents and is becoming more like the proverbial Mafia - they've taken to intimidating the residents on pain of eviction if they don't part with their hard earned cash by pretending that their computers make errors all on their own!
Who will reign in such a Council?
Razia.
elijah agevi wrote:
Thanks for the updates and yes you are in our prayers! Yes today will be different and will bear fruits.
Mungu si asumani! and May justice prevail.
Regards,
Elijah
They might be computerized but, their brains and attitude are still some time in the early 20th Century...., long before anything digital was discovered.
The following is what they have been doing...
On the 29th July 2008, my maid, who was sweeping the stairs encountered a man who gave her two sheets of printed paper purportedly from the Council. One was for me and the other for my immediate neighbour. These are dated 28th July 2008. They are notices to us of 7 days within which to pay ridiculously high amounts which the Council claims are arrears in rent.
This claim is totally ridiculous, since, we've been paying our rent regularly and even in advance. Mine is paid up till December 2008! Therefore, how did we get into arrears with our rent? The claim written on the notice to me, is a rent in arrears of 13 months and the amount being, 30,000/-! That is the mega question which nobody can, it seems, satisfactorily answer.
In the company of a representative of the Coast Lobby Group, Mr. Bakari, I went to see the Director of Housing and Social Services at the Council. We showed her my receipts and the stress causing notice from her various minions and she too, claimed ignorance about the notice...., i.e. why I should be served with one considering I was paid up till the end of the year.
Therefore, she rang up somebody whom she addressed as 'Miriam' and asked her why I was served with such a notice since I had proper receipts from this same Council confirming my payment till December. Unfortunately, we couldn't make out what this 'Miriam', told her, but, the Director, later tried to explain that due to computer errors (one wonders if the computers at the Council are 'alive' and make the errors or the persons operating them who feed in questionable information!), they wanted me to go with all (and from personal experience the more the better, i.e. for as long ago as possible!), my receipts to the Tudor ex-rent collecting office and have them make a proper record of my various payments.
So, this morning, in the company of a Nation reporter, Mr. Bakari and a colleague of his, we all paid the Tudor office a visit. There, we spent quite lot of time, but after studying all my receipts from way back in 2006, we were told that I now owed the Council 13,925/-. When they were asked why, despite having paid up till December 2008, we were told that the rent had been increased to 2300/- from what I've been paying - 1375/-, per month.
Now, this is news to me, as nobody in my estate has been served with a written notice of one month as the tenant/landlord agreement states in 5b. Therefore, how can the Council claim any arrears? Or is this a warped kind of thinking on the part of the Council to try and legitimize it's rent hike by trying to tell us that they are trying to 'correct' computer errors....?!
Also, since they have given us receipts of the amount paid with no indication that we owed them any other amount, how can they claim that we're in arrears as they haven't even abided by their own agreement with us as referred to above. And then, this Council has the temerity to send us threatening notices of eviction if we don't pay up their trumped up arrears. They sound more like the mafia than a Local Authority.
Another point is that this Council as a landlord is not interested in anything but collecting money by fair means or crooked and in this case it's more crooked than fair. They have not maintained these flats since decades, yet, keep increasing the rent without giving due notices. All of the top floor flats are leaking and despite many complaints to them, they have done nothing to rectify this. Therefore, on what grounds are they increasing rent and this time by more than a 100%?!
They do nothing about the many breaches of the tenant/landlord agreement by my neighbours who are running businesses from their premises and also are disturbing and harassing me when I complain. They (the Council), breaks its own by-laws by allocating a road reserve to a private developer who 'developed' one-third of the plot into a block of flats which have subsequently been sold to individual buyers and the remaining two-thirds is being used as a truck, tractor, earthmover, garage, junk-yard, etc., whose gate is through the estate. These monstrosities, are revved at all hours for hours on end as well as they come and go at all hours of the day or night. When they want the gate to be opened by the resident watchman, they hoot with complete disregard of the time of night. And this is just one example. There are quite a handful of others...., just in this estate.
They have also allowed one of my neighbours to keep a glue sniffing street 'boy', to sleep under our staircase. Is this place on it's way to becoming a 'haven' for squatters? Why isn't the Council doing anything about all of these issues which I have complained about to them umpteen numbers of times in the past? Therefore, one can't help but, reach the conclusion that our Council is not in the least interested in improving services to the residents and is becoming more like the proverbial Mafia - they've taken to intimidating the residents on pain of eviction if they don't part with their hard earned cash by pretending that their computers make errors all on their own!
Who will reign in such a Council?
Razia.
elijah agevi wrote:
Thanks for the updates and yes you are in our prayers! Yes today will be different and will bear fruits.
Mungu si asumani! and May justice prevail.
Regards,
Elijah
Monday, July 28, 2008
Religious and incessant other noise - the th 31st reminder
It was interesting to read in KARA's latest newsletter that I got just now, that NEMA has got itself a new environmental police unit which is already cracking it's whip on offenders. What encouraging news! Only problem is, nowhere in the entire newsletter was their contact number/s given. And if they operate only in Nairobi (very likely), or the country as a whole.
Ironically, as I write this, the noise from MWA Hall urgently requires these environmental police's attention for they, as usual, are making their racket over the lunch hour/s. And as mentioned umpteen times before, this is happening in a residential area with one hospital right next door and another not too far away.
Our Sundays too, are spent listening to these various churches in the neighbourhood loudly conducting their 'services' all through the day. The only time we might get some peace and quiet is after 1.30 pm or 2.00 pm.
But, then of course, the neighbourhood mosque continues it's 5 daily prayers. These days, depending on the particular Imam's whim, it's either mercifully peaceful or extremely loud. It seems that there are at least 2 men there, who conduct prayers and one of them is offensively loud, when he has no need to be heard outside by the rest of the neighbourhood.
While I'm talking about the mosque in my neighbourhood, this religious noise, from other mosques all over town and the country at large, continues. I wonder what kind of 'torture' we are in for, during the holy month of Ramadhan which is coming in about a month's time...?
And what will the new police unit do about this? I am waiting for them to take action, pronto.
Ironically, as I write this, the noise from MWA Hall urgently requires these environmental police's attention for they, as usual, are making their racket over the lunch hour/s. And as mentioned umpteen times before, this is happening in a residential area with one hospital right next door and another not too far away.
Our Sundays too, are spent listening to these various churches in the neighbourhood loudly conducting their 'services' all through the day. The only time we might get some peace and quiet is after 1.30 pm or 2.00 pm.
But, then of course, the neighbourhood mosque continues it's 5 daily prayers. These days, depending on the particular Imam's whim, it's either mercifully peaceful or extremely loud. It seems that there are at least 2 men there, who conduct prayers and one of them is offensively loud, when he has no need to be heard outside by the rest of the neighbourhood.
While I'm talking about the mosque in my neighbourhood, this religious noise, from other mosques all over town and the country at large, continues. I wonder what kind of 'torture' we are in for, during the holy month of Ramadhan which is coming in about a month's time...?
And what will the new police unit do about this? I am waiting for them to take action, pronto.
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