The Bahatian

  The matatu industry may have generated a culture of its own. Before the late John Michuki stepped in and brought order, the industry was unregulated and renowned for reckless drivers, rude touts who hardly took showers for days on end and overpacked passengers squeezed in seats like sardines in a tin.   The adage that things changes on the outside and only remains the same on the inside holds true for this sector. Despite the stencilled passenger numbers on the vehicle’s body, which reads anything like, ‘ mtu 14’ ‘ vichwa 14’, ’14 skulls’ and so on in a creative fashion, the truth is, a fourteen seater carries eighteen passengers at most.   Though professionalism is witnessed across several matatu saccos, some are known to break laws with impunity. Touts rudeness is so ingrained that it is part of qualifications to this sector.

Riverside dam I wonder if many have seen the paradox of some places in Dundori Ward. That we are endowed with good weather conducive for a variety of agricultural activities is not in contention. The fragmentation of land into minuscule plots that are put up for sale, however, is seeing a slump in food production. (In reality, the same ‘tried and tested’ farming practices are largely to blame for low yields, as there is little room for innovative ways to maximize on yields).   For long, water supply was adequate, until recently when it became erratic. To say the rains have been good and the rivers are once again flowing is to deceive ourselves. Not until when you realize the trickle flowing into the pipes do you begin to see the big picture. There is actually no water! When rationing is currently at January levels, where in some places water flows once in a week, and for a limited time, it is inevitable to say a crisis is looming.

cattle dip   Around six pieces of public land measuring 0.9 each in acreage, or a combined total of 5.4 acres of Wanyororo shares in Amua village were grabbed long ago and sold to unsuspecting public by faceless but well connected individuals and no doubt a cartel. This is not the first land grab reported in the larger Dundori ward, as various pieces earmarked as public land have changed hands mysteriously. A look at the way boundaries have shifted like in the cemetery, or the way the dams have embankments farmed to the waterline, or part of their land shrunken, grabbed and fenced off, amongst other places, is a vindication of our leaders complicity to this entrenched malfeasance (anyway, those entrusted as custodians of our public resources are sell-outs leaders!).

For the past year or so, I had been enjoying the Equity Bank’s Equitel loan services. The repayment rates had been attractive compared to other credit facilities that I have had access to and which are disbursed over mobile phones. Well, we all find ourselves in that tricky financial situation from time to time and instead of resorting to borrowing or begging, take that shortcut to an emergency loan before figuring how to repay the same.   Financial institutions, we are well aware, are out to milk profit from hard pressed customers, and corporate greed is the driving force to this. Witness their well tailored loan products targeting individuals or specific groups like chamas or even low cadres of the unbanked populace that the hoi polloi can access. Anything attractive or well packaged in flowery but enticing language comes at a cost which at most will leave the applicant with a bitter taste in the mouth.

Sometimes last year, a friend and I were having an evening out and were running low on cash. We got discussing on which financial institution offers the best mobile based loans with low interest rates. He talked me into trying a Kenya Commercial Bank one claiming one can have a staggered repayment plan unlike other financial institutions.   A few days later, I decided to try this out. Upon registration, I deposited Sh10 in my KCB M-Pesa account as an ‘activation’ fee. When I checked if I was eligible for a loan, the text that displayed had it that I qualified for one, but it was a dismally Sh150 one. My credit score would improve in time depending on how I would be repaying.

An 'empowering' youth tournament I happened to attend a soccer tournament sponsored by an aspirant seeking an elective position the other week. The about two dozens youths in the field chasing after inflated pigskin (ball) were outdoing each in showcasing their raw dribbling skills. Whether this was motivated by the money on offer or the passion to advance their skills to the next level was hard to tell.    A careful look, however, revealed that the young sportsmen were drawn from local high schools within the locale with village wastrels thrown in to make up cobbled teams. I was made to understand these students were using the matches for ‘fitness purposes’ as they are part of their respective school teams.

United Methodist Mission Schools   It seems that men and women of cloth greed for wealth has gone overboard. Whereas their duped congregations are content to lead miserable lives waiting for kingdom come and enjoy eternity in total bliss, the men and women of collar are literally swimming in unimaginable wealth right here on paradise earth. Wh ich minister of gospel would choose to wallow in poverty when gullible masses can be exploited to fund their opulent lives?   Witness the ease with which these pastors – some with briefcase churches – preys on foreigners in name of ‘partnering’ in ‘kingdom building’, when in literal sense they are seeking for sources to finance their largess at a time churches are not witnessing exponential growth or engaged in serious soul winning efforts.