Tharaka Nithi nurses strike point to failed health devolution

Tharaka Nithi nurses strike point to failed health devolution

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

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hat health workers have stayed put and vowed to continue with their strike at the expense of patients points to a failed take off of transfer of the health function from the national government to the county governments.

The nurses refused to return to work after their May salaries were paid in full. They raised other issues like calling on the governor Samuel Ragwa to sack the Health executive Magdalene Njeru who accused the nurses of stealing medicine from the hospitals in Chuka General Hospital.

The nurses are obliged by their professional code of conduct to prioritize the plight of the patients at all times. The Hippocratic Oath holds and any professional doctor should be compassionate to the plight of the patients, majority of whom are poor to seek medical attention to private health facilities.

Graft Claims

As a result, the patients from Tharaka Nithi County have transferred to Meru and Embu teaching and referral hospitals. The claims of health workers stealing public medicine from public hospitals should be investigated and culpable nurses be prosecuted. It is alleged that the nurses have opened private clinics in town where they stuff the siphoned drugs which they recommend to their patients who are told that the drugs have ran out of supply. Medical dishonesty is a serious crime at a time when negligence among the medical fraternity have hit the local headlines.

Rightly, governor Ragwa maintains that the nurses must return to work since their dues have been paid. Any continued standoff will only lead to more needless suffering and at worse loss of lives.

IFMIS

There is also an urgent need for the national government to streamline the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) which is blamed for the delays in paying publics` servants including nurses and other professionals. It will also help for the county governments to partner with banks to ensure that nurses get their salary within the shortest time. Above all, patience and dialogue should prevail for the nurses who are educated enough to know the consequences of their strike on the ordinary citizens.

Mr. Ragwa has welcomed consultations with the nurses in a move expected to stem suffering among the patients. No amount of grandstanding will help the nurses. They should eat a humble pie and know that regardless of their duties they owe service delivery to Kenyans and must serve them selflessly and steer clear of politics and sideshows.

Tourists attracted by Machakos’ anti-gravity force of nature

Tourists attracted by Machakos’ anti-gravity force of nature

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he puzzle of the myth is that storytellers do not explain who sired Kamau. Is it Mwilu or Kyalo? I guess it is Kyalo since the mother had a soft spot for him.

BY MUSYOKA NGUI

Kyamwilu defies gravity. Photo/Google Images

Ukambani is changing for the better. With a top-notch governor like Alfred Mutua the Lower Eastern region is no more synonymous with hunger and relief aid. True, the region is sandy and not the best place to grow crops unless under irrigation but we in Ukambani have a phenomena that defies forces of nature and baffles scientists since it was “discovered” by the colonialists in the 19^th century. I say discover in quotes because historians would want to erroneously make us believe that Africans who lived in Kyamwilu village had not lived with the phenomenon where water climbs uphill for years until the Whites arrived. How racist? That aside, welcome to Machakos County the home to Kyamwilu hill where water does not follow conventional laws of nature. Located along Machakos- Kangundo road, the Kyamwilu hill is a gem.

The origin of the name Kyamwilu is interwoven in rich Akamba myths which have been passed from generation to another by the word of mouth. A story is told about a woman who was married to two brothers. With time the polyandry hit the rocks as the siblings grew jealous against one another. The marriage went on and on until the woman became pregnant with one of the men and gave birth to a baby boy named Kamau.

The wife never accorded both brothers equal affection since she visited Kyalo more often than Mwilu. As a result their siblings’ rivalry escalated as the woman of the house preferred to visit Kyalo who lived on the lower side of the hill than Mwilu who lived on the upper part of the hill. As a consequence, Kyalo enjoyed more frequent conjugal rights compared to his brother Mwilu.

The wife eventually passed away and the son survived her although he refused to stay at the disputed matrimonial homestead preferring to migrate to an unknown place. The Kamba folk lore seem to hold glaring double standards since it permits polygamy where a man marries many wives but in this story the woman who married just two brothers was doomed. Even Mother Nature seems to reprimand the woman for having her cake and eating it, literally.

Rebellious Hill

The abnormal scenery makes climbing the hill easier than descending it given the force of gravity acts contrary to the way it is supposed to do; make ascending easier. If your car breaks down on the road at Kyamwilu you will have to hire people to push it downhill where more force is required to work that going uphill. It is also a nice place for fitness as you enjoy climbing upwards more than downhill.

A simple experiment is usually administered by guests who carry water in bottles and pour it on the road and eureka, the water flows upstream not the expected downhill! The spot that spans about 100 meters is named in honor of Mwilu, the husband who never got to enjoy conjugal rights from the matriarch of the house who instead preferred his brother Kyalo. The puzzle of the myth is that storytellers do not explain who sired Kamau. Is it Mwilu or Kyalo? I guess it is Kyalo since the mother had a soft spot for him.

Unfortunately, the marvelous wonder of the world reinforces stereotype that says Kambas love sex and fans superstition which the community is revered for the “kamuti” culture. Their neighbours from Kitui excel better in this. Just look at the next street post and it will be written “Dakitari Kutoka Kitui”.

Which story? To sell or to tell?

 Which story? To sell or to tell?

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hen deadlines arrive without having a byline know your headline has no lifeline.

By MUSYOKA NGUI

Field can be a very interesting and challenging arena at the same time. Doors are opened and slammed in equal measures. Sources can be generous yet mean. Open and secretive.

Actually, field reporting is not something you learn in college because they do not teach it in the first place.

No one teaches you how to steal evidence. Yet the editor doesn’t want stories he wants page ones. When deadlines arrive without having a byline know your headline has no lifeline.

Dispatches from field must arrive fast and furious yet factual. Pressure of delivery is midwived by the pleasure of technology which is a game changer.

Dilemmas are abound. Which story do we report? The one that is easy or the hard one? Whose interests should we prioritize? The reader or the advertiser?

After college I realize that some theories were a waste of time. We were taught you should not write a headline as a question. But the Nairobian is asking readers questions and it is claimed to sell more copies over the weekend than the two leading local dailies.

In the streets I see people clutching the Nairobian and shunning “serious” papers. Who is a journalist to decide what is appropriate and what is chatter? Is he a moralist?

I understand there is need for editing a paper for the family but when an editor assumes that the adults are minors who need to be protected it leaves many questions unanswered.

I bet the safe way to present editorial material is to give every side of story as humanely possible and leave the audience to judge and crucify the content. You cannot go wrong that way. Self-censorship is a culprit in silencing the truth and making reporters accomplices in covering up sleaze, moral decadence and basically it is what happens when strange bedfellows go to bed without editorial foreplay as some panelist put it in NTV’s Presspass, a media watchdog show.

While opinion is like an a** and everyone has one, I believe any journalist who kills a story must have power to resurrect bland one from a clueless reporter who hasn’t mastered the art of tying the loose ends and encourage her to do better.

“I got published” is one of the rarest expressions from struggling journalists who still are pushing envelopes without headway.

The public interest overrides all the ethical codes and it should be the compass that guides editorial judgment. At the end of the day, tell the story in public interest not in vested interest.

Digital Detox; Time to Disconnect To Connect

Digital Detox; Time to Disconnect To Connect

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amping and hiking guides recommend you be detached from your phone in order to get lost in the fun and adventure with fellow human being and not being obsessed with your phones.

By MUSYOKA NGUI

You can reduce anxiety, stress and increase productivity by digital detox/Internet

When I first heard renowned Tanzanian Gospel star Rose Muhando’s song Facebook I immediately lashed out to her scathing condemnation of new technologies as laced with analogue and archaic tendencies of a conservative Christian keen of condemning anything that challenges convention.

In particular I didn’t like the way she accused school children of failing exams due to digital addiction. For one, all public primary and secondary schools prohibit pupils and students from attending school with their mobile phones and when entertainment is served it is usually once per week preferably on a Saturday night.

Muhando went ahead to accuse doctors of negligence by being glued to their mobile phones when they are supposed to be saving lives of patients. She categorically singled out Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp for messing up the lives of people. Unashamedly, members of congregation resort to social media under the false pretext they are reading a soft copy of the Bible in the app they downloaded from Google Play. As a result, the span of concentration to the Gospel wanes and the flock gets distracted.

Digital Detox

Welcome to the world of digital detox. This is a phenomenon when one needs to be delinked from the internet and focus on the environment around them. It has a number of benefits which we shall see shortly.

Abstaining from using electronic devices is not easy for those addicted. No wonder people get personal when Kenya Power causes a blackout in their area yet they (KP) may be innocently fixing a pole that is loose or connecting rural villages to electricity. The real problem is that continued power outage will make users miss out on “important trending topics on the social media” not KP’s expansionist forays.

Some die to catch the latest juicy gossips about people who are in practice few meters from them and instead of going the old fashioned way they resort to the social media where malice is cool and truth an enemy.

Being constantly connected saps one’s time and energy. People are reported to have went to bed at 9 pm only to sleep at 5 am in the morning. Instead of relaxing their minds and bodies they transit with night data bundles which are enticingly priced by telcos to make sure you do not sleep and the ISPs profit.

Conspiracy Theory

I am told of a conspiracy theory that a local telco may be engaging in population control measures now that ladies and Catholics protested against the tetanus jab that was supposedly made to make them infertile. The campaign by the Ministry of Health has not helped matters as users have shunned the injection like a leprosy case.

This conspiracy theory although it is riddled with major missing gaps lends credence to the claim that digital detox is the answer to constant anxiety and stress people are facing at home and workplace to the extent that they cannot produce and reproduce.

If your boss finds you trawling the internet and particularly the social media do not blame him/her for sending you to the inflation because unless you are an online editor or a marketer of a top online services company you are supposed to be doing “real” work rather than masquerading in the system. You are as fake as a ghost worker because let’s face it; both of you are unproductive and a liability to the employer. It makes economic sense to offload you. Fast.

The mere habit of looking at your screen at all times makes those around you to feel unappreciated since it is implied that you consider your device more important than your family, friends, colleagues and even strangers.

The problem is not technology but how we use it. It is not technological determinism envisaged by Marshall McLuhan. Let us not be used by technology to but be masters of technology. It should serve us not the other way round.

Mobile service providers know and understand that you are desperate for connection. They even let you get into debts just to stay online. They siphon your bank accounts by allowing banks to be a dial way. Those buttons are digits for self-destruction and slavery.

Discipline

Banks and huge blue chip companies serve their own interest but as a customer you are hoodwinked to think they are serving you. Nothing can be further from the truth. CSR is a fallacy. If a telco is serious with philanthropy why does it not plough back 10 per cent of its profits to the users?

Mobile phones, laptops and smartphones as well as desktops are the modern day alcohol, drugs and cigarettes. Being online always makes you miss the moment. You think you are connected by in fact you are lonely. Your right to privacy is infringed. Internet connection disorder can range from headaches, itchy eyes, bruised fingers, abdominal discomfort and even disrupted eating habits.

It requires discipline to cut off the connection and resist the urge to connect to the internet. Camping and hiking guides recommend you be detached from your phone in order to get lost in the fun and adventure with fellow human being and not being obsessed with your phones. It never killed any holiday maker on vacation to set aside their electronics and enjoy the moment they interact physically with fellow human beings. We are social but social media is antisocial.

Musyoka is a writer, blogger and a journalist

Want Online Visibility? Share

Want Online Visibility? Share

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nce you consult a bunch of trusted sources hit the keyboard and publish. You have the privilege of being the Consultant –in- Chief.

By MUSYOKA NGUI

To be visible online you must consistently use the internet/Internet Sources

Internet users in the social media want to be visible online. They want to be present, felt and experienced. But few understand the intricacies of how to remain relevant in a sea of numerous users all struggling to be noticed by others.

I met enthusiastic bloggers, budding buddies who wanted to be known what they do. They wanted a niche online. Something they can call their own. A blog. A space in the internet.

But most of them did not remain consistent online. Once I created a blog for them they just basked in the glory of blogosphere. They never gathered audience neither updated their blogs.

Share, share and share

However, some have tried. I get updated on how many views my protégé generated on his or her recent posts and the number of profile views. Some have gone ahead and taught others how it is done.

Everyone feels it when they post what they think could potentially generate a debate but followers and non faces remain silent as if you did not do anything. You share on variousgroups and platforms but nothing is forthcoming.

Never give up. Share, share and share. Someone will notice and tag along. They will invite their friends to follow you too and the cycle goes on and on.

Some social media users are very passive. They just read and forget. But you have a duty to make them remember you. Let them not forget you by posting captivating material they will like and comment. Generate debate and own the show.

Digital journalism is the best frontier in self-publishing today. An editor may kill your story. If he or she kills it, as I always tell my upcoming team of bloggers, you have the power to resurrect your story by publishing it full length in your own blog. Of course youwill have to invest in a credible revise editor. Do not entertain typos because they are embarrassing and dent your credibility. If you cannot get the grammar right how can we trust you to articulate a complex issue?

Intellectual Rape

Consistency is crucial in maintaining your online presence. Periodically update your status, break news, deliver exclusives and stay ahead ofthe curve. Let the rest play catch up. Once you consult a bunch of trustedsources hit the keyboard and publish. You have the privilege of being the Consultant –in- Chief. Your editorial meeting is held between your ears and nothing is imaginative like thinking out loud while grossing the tabs.

Other users may also have a great story that you want to be associated with. Be honest enough to quote them to avoid intellectual rape. Plagiarism is the worst form of thievery after robbery with violence.

Remember the maxim; share, share and share.

Musyoka is a blogger, writer and a journalist