ROUND THE CLOCK: While President Uhuru Kenyatta and some government health experts are reluctant to go the whole hog, university don X.N. Iraki thinks the most effective way to fight Covid-19 is to open the economy 24 hours. Says he: “The best way is to shift to 24-hour economy to disperse the crowds. Have people working shifts from 7am to 3pm, 3pm-11pm and 11pm-7am. This will increase our productivity by making use of one of the scarce resources — time.” Adds Prof Iraki: “Kenyans will most probably reciprocate by observing social distancing and wearing face masks. Why not give it a try? After all, Covid-19 cases are still rising, despite the restrictions.” His contact is xniraki@gmail.com. *** UNFAIR EQUITY: Even amid the gloom of Covid-19, Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed companies are announcing their annual results and the banks have done well, as usual. And retired auditor Michael Karan finds the decision by Equity Bank not to pay out dividends, citing the pandemic, unfair. Says he: “The coronavirus effects should have been factored into the coming year, which will end in 2021. The best thing would have been to issue bonus shares equivalent to the dividends, the millions already donated to the coronavirus fund notwithstanding.” His contact is karanmichael3@gmail.com. *** TRYING TIMES: Kenyans are going through hard times, having to put up with a lockdown that has adversely effected the economy, laments Nairobi resident Alnashir Walji. But being the optimist that he is, Alnashir advises fellow Kenyans not to panic but commit themselves fully to combating the deadly Covid-19 with renewed rigour. President Uhuru Kenyatta, notes Alnashir, has rightly cautioned that time is not ripe to open up. The national leadership, he pleads, must live up to its pledge to protect Kenyans against this pandemic and all the other woes bedevilling them. His contact is alnashirdwalji@yahoo.com. *** DATA DISPUTE: Internet service subscriber Patrick Mbataru is livid. “Safaricom disconnects my Safaricom Home Fibre service promptly at 1am on the expiry date, arguing that that is when the day begins. This means they give me a 29-day service although I pay for 30. This is stealing my data, which I’ll have paid for. Even if they won’t wait to disconnect me at the end of the day,let them do so at the exact time I pay them.” If he pays at 10am, for instance, they should cut off the service 30 days later […]
