THE CUTTING EDGE – Daily Nation

UNHELPFUL EMBASSY: The Kenyan High Commission in Kampala, a disappointed Don Wachira remarks, is “ill-equipped to provide some basic services” to the citizens living in Uganda and those visiting. Don says he called the chancellery recently to enquire about what to do about his passport that is about to expire and the receptionist advised him to go to Kisumu, Nairobi or Mombasa because they do not have biometric machines to capture photographs and fingerprints. The commission, he adds, also cannot process national identity cards, renew passports or register one for Huduma Namba. “Then, what is this commission’s purpose?” His contact is [email protected]

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POOR PLANNING: Nairobi has been badly failed by the people who have been involved in or are responsible for planning some of the recent developments, remarks Ken Butiko. Says he: “Smart planning requires that residential areas are separated and clearly demarcated from industrial areas.” In Nairobi, he strongly feels, residents “are not being fully protected from the adverse effects of industry, with dumpsites and noisy pubs located in residential areas. This is an “unhealthy development” that the city county needs to address. His contact is [email protected]

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HOMOPHOBIA: The death of writer and gay rights activist Binyavanga Wainaina, Gichuki Mbogo notes, brought down the curtain on a “literary genius, controversial soul and a really happy Kenyan”. But Stephen is disappointed about the extremism and hatred needlessly manifested in some quarters. Of particular concern to him is the apparent hatred for “those who are ‘different’ from the ‘good’ people with the ‘right’ sexual orientation”. He wishes that Kenyans could channel that energy towards the corrupt and greedy. “Though I may not have agreed with Binyavanga’s views, I believe corruption bleeds the nation more than any sexual orientation could.” His contact is [email protected]

ART OF WAR: Following the blacklisting of Huawei Technologies in the US, intensifying the Beijing-Washington trade war, Teddy Kimani says, fears are mounting globally. “Huawei markets have plummeted, creating worries over the cell phones becoming obsolete. The world is keenly watching China’s imminent retaliation against the ban.” The Trump administration, he warns, “should tread carefully in dealing with a nation that gave birth to Sun Tzu, the author of the Chinese military tactics treatise, Art of War, more than 2,000 years ago”. His contact is [email protected]

Have a tactful day, won’t you!