Category: General

Residents of Gatanga Sub-county in Murang’a will be forced to pay more for water, if a proposal by a local water company to increase water rates, sails through.

Gatanga Water and Sanitation Company (Gatawasco), has written to the Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB), seeking leave to raise its charges to generate more returns, to expand its infrastructure.

Gatawasco’s proposal indicates that the new tariffs will be effective from July this year to 2029, explaining that it plans to undertake a Sh41 million investment that will improve its service delivery in the period.

The water firm, which generally serves rural homesteads, proposes that the minimum water charges for zero to six units of water, be charged at Sh120 up from Sh33.

Domestic consumers who use between seven to 20 units of water currently, pay Sh50 and will now be required to pay Sh135, should the new charges be adopted.

Charges for 21 to 50 units will rise from Sh65 to Sh150, and consumer rates for 51 to 100 units will increase from Sh80
to Sh165, while 101 to 300 units will be charged Sh180 up from Sh100 while the rates for over 300 units of water will be charged Sh190 up from Sh130.

Murang’a County Assembly’s Deputy Speaker, Moses Gachui, has termed the new charges outrageous, saying they will make the lives of the residents, majority of whom are small-scale farmers suffer.

On Thursday, Gachui, speaking at Kihumbu-ini market, stated that the Company operates in a rural area and that the financial status of most residents, cannot allow them to pay more for water.

Gachui who is also Kihumbu-ini Member of the County Assembly (MCA), said the current water coverage for Gatanga Sub-county is about 70 percent and that the Company should first focus on connecting all homes, before raising the charges.

‘It has been brought to my attention that the Company’s Board is attempting to review the tariffs upward without following the due process… and thus willingly attempting to evade the procedure, as set out by the law,’Gachui lamented.

The proposal
s, he noted, will lead to many of the homes being disconnected from the supply, denying them their constitutional right to basic needs.

Gachui said most residents are already grappling with the hard economic times and will be unable to pay the new charges.

The Deputy Speaker has called for elaborate public participation to allow residents to give their input before the new charges are effected, saying the Company should have started by involving consumers before writing to WASREB.

‘We request that the proposals be suspended until such a time that the economic environment will allow people to pay more,’ he said, adding that the company should not be geared towards making profits as it is a public entity.

‘An average home that has cows consumes between nine and 20 units, and will now be paying three times what they have been paying,’ Gachui further said.

Margaret Waithera, a resident of Gaikamba village said the company rations its water supply and that they only get a consistent supply during rains.

This
, she said, is despite the fact that the company continually imposes monthly charges, saying higher charges will be intolerable, and will force them to start fetching the commodity from rivers.

‘This will hit elderly women even more. How will they be able to pay more yet they are already struggling?’ she wondered.

Source: Kenya News Agency

WINDHOEK: The Inspector General of the Namibian Police Force, Lieutenant General Joseph Shikongo, has urged commanding officers to put succession plans in place in order to guarantee a smooth transition following their retirement.

He voiced his dissatisfaction with some senior police officers who fail to identify potential successors but instead request an extension of their service.

‘It is regrettable that within our organisation, there are still people, and when it’s time for your retirement, you come to the inspector general and ask that you please give me one more year. And if you ask the reason why, they say no, I have not paid off my car or house. And on top of that, I have nobody to take over from me. But you have been commanding people for 20 or 10 years, and you have not prepared somebody to take over from you. Leadership is about preparing others,’ he said.

Shikongo made the observation during the second phase of the police mass promotion at the Israel Patrick Iyambo Police College here on Wednes
day.

‘So today if anybody comes to me and says Shikongo, who is taking over from you, I don’t think I will hesitate to say yes; all these officers are qualified because they are prepared,’ the inspector general said about the importance of succession plans.

Shikongo promoted 911 officers to various ranks, including chief inspectors, inspectors, senior inspectors, warrant officers 1 and 2, as well as sergeants 1 and 2. Out of those promoted, 421 are female, representing 46 per cent.

The police chief said the promotion was enabled by the continuous government effort in law enforcement.

‘While the government continues to play its role in providing the necessary resources through budgetary allocation, it is the duty of all of us to ensure that we complement what the government is doing by redoubling our efforts to deliver quality law enforcement services,’ said Shikongo.

To the newly promoted officers, Shikongo stressed that ‘a promotion should not be seen as a mere decoration or just a reward to an officer
or a member, but it comes with huge responsibilities over their shoulders; these include a high level of accountability, commitment, command and control, and honesty in upholding the rule of law.’

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

Kirinyaga administration has rolled out mental health programme in all medical facilities in the county to address rising cases of suicide.

County governor Anne Waiguru termed mental health as a big problem across the country that must be sorted out to avert unnecessary deaths.

The governor attributed increased cases of suicide among men in Kirinyaga to mental health challenges arising from depression and family pressures.

Speaking during the burial ceremony of Wasafi Bodaboda Chairman Isaac Njagi alias Muthii in Ndindiruku area of Mwea constituency, Waiguru noted that there is a worrying trend of suicide cases among men in the county.

She said the mental health programme involve training and deploying counsellors in all medical facilities.

‘The counsellors will provide guidance, support, and advice to individuals, couples, families, or groups facing personal, social, or psychological issues,’ the governor said.

She said the rise of mental health problems highlights the need for qualified professionals
to help victims to overcome the mental issues.

The governor asked people to moderate their expectations and reduce unnecessary pressures in life so as to avoid being victims of mental health.

‘I want to ask youth, especially young men to speak out when you have an issue, lets join social groups, and engage in sports activities. They help you relieve the pressures and get guidance,’ Waiguru added.

For the last one year, there has been increased cases of death related to suicide in Kirinyaga, with majority of them being attributed to family disputes.

Mwea Member of Parliament Mary Maingi asked men to speak out and seek help, instead of taking their own lives because of issues that can be sorted out.

Maingi asked young men not to lose hope or give up in life because there are a lot of opportunities awaiting them.

World Health Organisation (WHO) attributes majority of suicide cases to joblessness, academic failures or pressures, legal difficulties and financial difficulties. Others include bullying, alcohol
ism and substance misuse, depression and bipolar disorder

WHO has also rated suicide as among top 20 leading causes of death worldwide, with Kenya being ranked position 114 among the 175 countries with the highest suicide cases.

Source: Kenya News Agency

WINDHOEK: The Lufthansa Group, through its subsidiary Discover Airlines, has rewarded Paragon Aviation Services with numerous distinctions in appreciation for Paragon Aviation Services’ (PAS) service at Hosea Kutako International Airport (HKIA).

The accolade is in lieu of Discover Airlines’ exemplary services.

The airline was represented by Thomas Stein, the Regional Manager of Ground Operations for Africa and Paul Havenga, Windhoek Station Manager at the award ceremony which was held on Sunday in Windhoek, Namibia.

Paragon Aviation Services is the licensed provider of ground handling services at Hosea Kutako International Airport. These services include passenger services, ramp and baggage handling, cargo services, meet and greet and private aircraft charter services.

Desmond Amunyela, Executive Director of Paragon Aviation Services, in a press release on Wednesday expressed the company’s dedication to delivering exceptional service in a safe, secure and on-time performance environment to all its custome
r airlines calling on HKIA.

”This award serves as a vote of confidence from one of our largest clients and it further cements PAS’ capacity and credibility as a competitive aviation ground handler in the region and beyond. A special thanks should go to our dedicated colleagues in various departments. The commitment of our all-Namibian workforce, highlights the company’s ability to push boundaries and offer new end-to-end logistics solutions to its clients and customers,’ Amunyela added.

He said Paragon Aviation Services began providing ground handling services at Hosea Kutako International Airport on 19 August 2023. Paragon was further praised for its steadfast efforts in bringing about a stable ground handling environment at Hosea Kutako International Airport immediately after its much-publicised precarious takeover at the airport last year, he added.

Paragon Aviation Services handles approximately 87 scheduled flights turnaround weekly as well as various private aircraft with more than 1 400 passengers
per day, Amunyela said.

The Lufthansa Group also awarded the Paragon Premium Business Lounge at HKIA with an award for providing exceptional services to its business class and loyalty club members.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

Environmental experts in Kilifi have cautioned the public against using recycled plastic products, noting that they contain higher levels of toxic chemicals, harmful to the human body.

For many years, recycling has been used as a way of reducing the amount of plastic waste in the environment and oceans, but recent studies show that the process may be causing more harm than good.

Speaking to the media, Pwani University Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences, Professor Okeyo Benards, explained that during the recycling process, some of the chemicals in the plastics change to be even more toxic than they were in the previous plastic compound.

This in turn, he says, leads to recycled plastics being more dangerous to human bodies, than the old ones.

‘Recycling remains an option in reducing the quantity of plastics in the environment but in terms of chemical pollution and rate of toxicity, they are even more toxic than the old plastic’, the Professor said.

He warned people against bur
ning plastic waste in their residential areas, as it leads to the release of dangerous fumes into the air, that is not safe when inhaled.

According to Prof. Benards, the best way to manage plastics, is by reducing the amount of plastic products used in households and burning plastic waste in a safe place by those concerned.

‘If you have any waste that has plastic, please do not burn it. Set aside the plastic waste and let it be collected by the County workers who have incineration structures for burning such waste materials ‘, Prof. Benards emphasized.

Ashley Kazungu, a student pursuing a Master’s degree in Environmental Science at Pwani University, explained the need for people to reduce the amount of plastics in their households, to protect themselves from the adverse health effects caused by the products.

‘The most important thing that we can do as a society, is to reduce the amount of plastic that we use. If you do not need plastic, please do not use it. Especially when serving hot drinks, beverages a
nd food’, Kazungu said.

She emphasized the need for people to unite to fight the country’s plastics crisis, to preserve our health and environment for ourselves and future generations.

Source: Kenya News Agency

WINDHOEK: The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) has once again brushed off claims that the government’s decision to compel Namibians to register their SIM cards will lead to mass surveillance by the State.

The ministry on Wednesday dismissed an assertion by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) that State security agencies, including the Namibia Central Intelligence Service (NCIS), might use the process to spy on the public.

‘With mandatory SIM card registration, the law, through regulations gazetted in 2021, eases and enables indiscriminate mass surveillance of the digital communications of everyone operating a SIM card or internet connection in Namibia,’ a recent IPPR research article, which was reported in the local press, indicated.

MICT Executive Director Audrin Mathe rebuffed this, saying the assertion ‘lacks merit and undermines’ the government’s effort to combat cybercrimes.

‘It is imperative to clarify that law enforcement agencies can only access SIM users’ cal
l data following a reported crime and upon issuance of a warrant by a judge,’ Mathe said in a statement.

He added that the NCIS Act of 1997 and Terrorism Act that are already in operation regulate the interception, permitting it only under judicial authorisation. ‘Therefore, mobile service providers are not authorised to intercept communications, rather, this authority lies solely with law enforcement agencies,’ he said.

The government official said the mandatory registration of SIM cards is in line with Section 73 of the Communications Act of 2009.

‘We urge the public to utilise the grace period provided and register their SIM cards before 31 March 2024 to avoid any disconnection of service,’ Mathe said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency