Nairobi council should style up and enable residents to pay their land rates and other charges through the electronic money transfer services, urges A. Muthaura. Town Clerk Philip Kisia should start by getting into a deal with Safaricom to use M-Pesa and get rid of the long queues at City Hall. Recently, he moans, he had to queue for a good two hours to pay his rates. "Let's take advantage of technology and ease the lives of Kenyans."

***

The residents of Nairobi's Githurai and Mwihoko estates want the only link road between Thika Road and the eastern bypass, which, they claim, was closed off recently by an individual, reopened immediately. With the bypass nearing completion, they argue, the link road will help ease traffic jams on Thika Road. After the man installed an electric fence across the road, the residents say they reported the matter to the local administration, which has yet to act.

***

The best Christmas gift KPLC can accord the residents of the area around the Automobile Association headquarters at Embakasi, Nairobi, is to fix their transformer, which blew up on December 2, says Richard Inwang. Unless KPLC sends over its technicians to repair the faulty transformer or replace it with a new one, Richard adds: "We fear that we shall have a very bleak Christmas."

***

Safaricom and Zain are not doing Kenyans any good as far as their roaming rates in the region are concerned, says Cyrill O. Steiner. "Zain claims subscribers can call at normal rates wherever they are, while Safaricom says it's 'kama kawaida' in Rwanda and Kampala. But a call when in Kigali or Kampala will cost you Sh45 a minute. A call from Zain to any number in East and Central Africa costs Sh70 a minute and Sh28 a minute to customer care."

***

Having wondered why in the 10km stretch between Kabati and Thika, there are three traffic police "inspection" points, John Nduati says the answer came from a matatu driver: Each stop, he said, belongs to a different police station and they have targets. John is, therefore, appealing to the Traffic Commandant to take the officers off the "toll" stations, where they stand all day pretending to work, while all they do is collect bribes.

***

The "police checks" on Waiyaki Way, Nairobi, have become cash collection points, says a local resident. He urges Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere to send his men incognito to catch his boys and girls milking matatu crew. Or if he won't, EW adds, the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission should move in and put an end to the spectacle of police officers brazenly enriching themselves at motorists' expense. "Roadblocks are cash-cows for the officers," he quips.

***

All the energy and resources politicians are expending on organising public rallies to rant at one another over petty differences could be better used, says Mike Mbogire. These people, he adds, are hampering the country's progress. "They are proving to us that they were not ready for multipartyism. I wish they could use their time to fight corruption."

Have a useful day, won't you!