Christmas Bell Rings for Speed-Gun Checkpoints on Kenyan Roads

Author Reference

Lango, B. (2016). Christmas Bell Rings for Speed-Gun Checkpoints on Kenyan Roads.  Intel Fire Group of Companies Blog. Nairobi, Kenya. October 02, 2016.

In the recent year the new road traffic regulator, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), introduced the use of speed guns on Kenyan roads to the chagrin of most Kenyan drivers and more so the private car owners and by extension the high-end private ones. Well, now is another Christmas time and probably one of the best times to work as a speed gun operator and with eyes set on those travelling massively during this Christmas season. Those roads that have been ignored by these guns due to low traffic can now have at least one assigned and those manning the point will certainly have a good “report” at the end of the day.  The Christmas bell will certainly be ringing several times at these checkpoints not because the speed gun operators are selfish and hell-bent on charging every motorist but because the motorist themselves have not embraced the road traffic rules that are related to speed check. Take for example, why would a typical Kenyan maintain a speed of 30KPH (Kilometer Per Hour) on a Tanzanian road and fails to maintain a speed of 100KPH on Kenyan road? This can be difficult to explain in simple writing but to sum it all, it boils down to a system eroded with high handedness and the above-the-law attitude among the leaders who should be showing good example.

The speed-guns have been extensively used in Kenyan roads with the only Superhighway in Kenya named Thika Superhighway leading the park of usage. Drivers along this road would tell you that despite the officers being on this road several times in a week they would always have culprits in big numbers and majority being repeat offenders. To the public, the officers executing the speed-limit system within the road are just a bunch of extortionists in uniform syphoning money from innocent motorists and more so the private car owners as the public ones are never stopped. The problem however lies with the Kenyan drivers who in most instances are very impatient group of individuals. A Kenyan driver would rather have the vehicle “fly” without wings not that there is an emergency but that there is an urge that the car needs to move fast. The passengers and those given lifts by these vehicle and car owners also appreciate a good car through the kind of speed it can zoom. The more speed the car zooms the better the car and its owner. The public service transport in particular have a tendency of over speeding to make more trips and especially during the Christmas break as “wateja” (passengers) will be stranded but in real sense to make more money.

Therefore folks take lead this Christmas season and ensure the bells do not ring at any of the speed-gun points along any of the Kenyan roads. Remember CHRISTMAS IS A SEASON OF RINGING BELLS BUT THIS IS ONE PLACE THESE BELLS SHOULD NEVER RING.

The writer is a PhD Generalist in Service Delivery and Project Management.

Contact: benard.lango@gmail.com

Average Nairobians Safety Tips When Travelling Upcountry

Author Reference

Lango, B. (2016). Average Nairobians Safety Tips When Travelling Upcountry.  Intel Fire Group of Companies Blog. Nairobi, Kenya. October 02, 2016.

Another Christmas celebration season is here with us and not only does the Nairobians wake to the mood of celebrations they also would love their folks in the village to know what they have achieved in the year. And the achievements are numerous, from a new car, new cloths, new jobs, new husbands, new sponsors, new wife, to new cadre of urban music they have mastered. The list is endless and so to write, this period is the only one where most individuals travel to their rural villages and at the same time the more modern ones travel for holidays at secluded places outside the city. Travelling is good for your health and therefore making sure the house you will be leaving for a while is also safe. This Christmas season therefore as you travel to your rural village or to a seclusion (read modern village) ensure you follow simple safety tips below:

1. Locking all the doors

When travelling most people tend to lock only the main door and leave the rest but unless you are staying in a single room house ensure all the doors within the house are all locked. The main aim is to limit the intrusion access once it occurs. Don’t let the intruder have a field day celebration in your house because the only lock they had to break was the one for the main door. Most studies show that intrusions are usually done from the back door from which they have access to the main door and the whole house. Your house have no idea that you are excited and celebrating your life out so ensure the house feels safe as you will need it when all are sound and you are back sanity.

2. Don’t Facebook Your Itinerary

One of the biggest sins of the 21^st century is the introduction of social media in the life of a young African Kenyan plying his or her trade in Nairobi Kenya. Do not be excited or ached, these are young and the old youthful working class who broadcast every happening of their life and simple achievements to the whole world. Intruders have also transformed with technology and will be watching you keenly as you Facebook, tweet, instagram and the rest to have pure prior information on your whereabouts. Forgetting that a while back you had broadcast to the world how much you keep in the house and how your house looks like, you now tell the world about your upcoming trip, the location, your mode of locomotion (read transport that’s the western in me), and how long you will not be around. This places your house at risk of intrusion as all the information the prospective intruder needs is already out there. When you are back you give a statement of your lost items on the same social media saying they had insider information as they knew exactly where you keep your valuables. This is what is called unnecessary broadcast of your itinerary to the world to satisfy your small ego at the expense of the house.

3. Let Someone Stay in the House

Most of the Nairobi houses do not have an alarm system leave alone one that can be activated remotely by your phone when travelling. If you have one then consider yourself an above average Nairobian and this article is not for your consumption as it targets an average one. For this kind of houses therefore, the best alarm system that you can activate remotely by your phone is having somebody stay behind as you travel. This person must be close or keenly known to you from a house help to a close relative. Activate them by calling them every evening to give security action briefing and you get the briefs of the day. This not only makes you a big person but also raises your level of security keenness trust the writer.

4. Leave Lights ON

This is one of the worst measures but when it comes to the end justifying the means then it is an option that has been used by many and yielded success. This is achieved by ensuring that you have eco-energy or light saving bulbs in major sections of the house and the compound. Most probably at the living room (call it sitting room as you are used to) and lights around the compound are left ON during the entire period you will be away. The only problem is that the holiday period lasting long also places the bulbs as security risks. Remember this is not recommended but when bread and butter are not available then even boiled beans can do the trick.

5. Keep your Close Neighbors Informed

Good neighborliness is the best security standard practice in modern worlds and especially the not so learned ones. The attitude that “Am staying whether you are there or not” does not encourage a security culture that is vested in good neighbors. How does one stay with a neighbor for close to 4 years and you have never known their names and even the kind of work they are doing. Get close to one or more of your close neighbors and when travelling alert them so that your house is not relocated in your absence. In most cases the intruders are aware that most people do not communicate with their neighbors and will inform them that you contracted them to relocate you as you are moving houses. If you had informed a neighbor that you are travelling, they will most probably call you to confirm.

In conclusion good people take not that your house is not as excited as you are maybe a face-paint lift will make them, neither are they aware that you are gone but keeping in check these 5 steps will. As you go for holiday it is a ladder you are climbing but remember EVERYONE WHO CLIMBS UP THE LADDER MUST CLIMB DOWN AT ONE TIME just make sure that down there the house is intact.

The writer is a PhD Generalist in Service Delivery and Project Management.

Contact: benard.lango@gmail.com

Workplace Managers May soon be “State Guests” due to SMOKING ZONES.

Lango, B. (2016). Workplace Managers May soon be “State Guests” due to SMOKING ZONES.  Intel Fire Group of Companies Blog. Nairobi, Kenya. October 02, 2016.

Many companies in Kenya are yet to conform to the new tobacco regulations legal notice 169 of 2014 that came into force 26 September 2016. These regulations are enforced to operationalize the tobacco control act 2007 after a long protracted court battle that pit the government on one side and tobacco companies on one side. There is a saying that goes “The arms of the government are literary long” and looking at the tobacco act and now the regulations, one thing stands out the tobacco industry in Kenya has just experienced the long arm of the government. Even though statistics indicated that at least 97% of adult Kenyans supported the prohibition of smoking in restaurant, the number of smoking Kenyans are still high. The tobacco control act 2007 intention therefore is to ensure that the right of every Kenyan to a smoke free environment from second cadre smokes. This law is therefore very particular and in section 33 lists the prohibited smoking areas and in 33 (2) (a) prohibits smoking in offices and workplaces including corridors, lounges, eating area, reception areas, lifts, escalators, foyers, stairwells, toilets, laundries, and amenity areas of such places. In short the act is saying “Managers or owners of workplaces do not allow smoking at the workplace unless it has a designated smoking zone and to the tobacco industries “one who chases you away does not tell you leave. Do not wait until you are told.”

Recommended Designated Smoking Zone within a Workplace

Remember the occupational health and safety act 2007 only required workplaces to designate and put a SMOKING ZONE sign for places where smoking were allowed within the workplace. Well, this is not the case with the tobacco control act 2007.  Section 35 of the act allows managers or owners of a prohibited smoking area to provide a specially designed smoking area but this has to comply with certain conditions. These conditions includes establishing a room that is separate, enclosed and sealed from the floor to the roof with a door, and that it is ventilated in such a manner that air from the room does not re-circulate or drift to other areas within the workplace. To cap it all the Tobacco Control Regulations Legal notice no. 169 of 2014 require managers or owners of premises who intends to establish a designated smoking area in accordance with section 35 of Tobacco control act 2007 to get a certificate of compliance from the Director of Medical Services. This simply means that your manager should not allow smoking until a designated smoke zone is established and a certificate of the zone compliance given by ministry of health.

So how do you comply if you are not interested in having a SMOKING ZONE within the workplace? Simple,  as the manager or owner of the workplace ensure that the recommended signage communicating prohibition of smoking within the workplace is displayed as required. Again the regulations has gone too far to specify the exact format of the warning messages and even specify the paper size, the font type to be used, fore and background color. No jokes here as non-compliance may earn you the manager or the owner of the premises a fine not exceeding fifty thousand Kenyan money or a guest of the state for a term not exceeding six months, or both the fine and being a state guest.  As a manager or owner of workplace therefore take care and implement the regulations required as the option of BEING A STATE GUEST MIGHT NOT BE SO WELCOMING. LET THE STATE BE YOUR GUEST BUT NOT VICE VERSA.

The writer is a PhD Generalist in Service Delivery and Project Management.

Contact: benard.lango@gmail.com