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🚨𝐊𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐈 𝐁𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆-𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐏𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒?🚨🇷🇼 🚍 Kigali’s buses are finally getting better. Services are becoming more reliable. Waiting times are shorter. The system feels more organized. That progress deserves recognition. But here’s the question nobody wants to ask: 👉 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒚... 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆? Because one difficult reality remains: Fare revenue alone will never fund a reliable and sustainable public transport system. Not in Kigali. Not in Tokyo Not in London Not in New York Not anywhere in the world. For example, in large U.S. transit systems, fares cover only about 38% of operating costs on average. Which means the debate is no longer just about fares. It is about moving from a “𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒚𝒔” model to a broader “𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒚𝒔” approach. Because when public transport works well, the benefits spread far beyond the passengers onboard. More people choose buses over private cars. The number of cars on the road drops. Cities move better. And the gains reach almost everyone: ✔ Residents save money, reduce transport stress, and avoid pollution exposure ✔ Employers benefit from a more reliable workforce and fewer delays ✔ Businesses move goods faster and improve customer access ✔ Drivers face less congestion, shorter travel times, and safer roads ✔ Cities reduce emissions, noise, and infrastructure pressure ✔ More urban space becomes available for housing, business, and public spaces Even people who never use the bus benefit from a system that works. So here’s the real question: 👉 𝑰𝒇 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕, 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕? Cities like London,Paris, New York, Toronto and Vancouver and others have already answered that question through different funding mechanisms : ✅Developer contributions ✅ Payroll taxes ✅ Income and sales taxes ✅ Property-related taxes ✅Road user and parking charges ✅Vehicle and fuel levies ✅Visitor lodging taxes ✅Land value capture mechanisms 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆: 🇫🇷 France raises billions for public transport through employer payroll contributions. 🇬🇧 London partly funded Crossrail through business property taxes that generated nearly £4 billion. 🇨🇦 Vancouver applies a 15¢/litre fuel levy to help fund public transport. Because successful cities understand one thing: 🚦Public transport is not just about moving people—it shapes how a city works, grows, and competes. Kigali is making real progress. But sustaining that progress will require a bigger conversation about how urban mobility should be funded in the future. 𝑺𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌? Should Kigali continue relying mainly on fares, or is it time for a broader funding model? 👇 📖 Full piece in the attached link: #Kigali #PublicTransport #UrbanMobility #SustainableCities #Infrastructure #Africashow more

Dr. NDARUHUTSE Jean Claude, PhD

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20,713 просмотров • 3 месяцев назад •via X (Twitter)

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This is the current situation at St Mary’s Bridge in Chitungwiza, a dormitory town next to Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. Residents of this town are being forced to walk home on foot after the Zimbabwean police blocked kombis from going beyond the bridge. Kombis are minibus taxis commonly used for public transport in Zimbabwe and are the main form of urban transport in the country. It is quite disheartening because Zimbabwe once had a thriving public transport system in all cities and towns, with buses comparable to those in many modern countries, but ZANUPF destroyed it. Chitungwiza, for instance, had a bus company called ZimElectro Motors (ZEM), which played a crucial role in providing affordable public transport for residents commuting between Chitungwiza and Harare during its operation. ZEM was owned by the Chitungwiza Town Council and was a municipally-run bus company established to provide affordable and reliable transport for residents of the town. However, when ZANUPF came into power, the company was driven into the ground. Money was looted, and unqualified managers were appointed. The rest, as they say, is history. Zimbabweans must realise that nobody is coming to save them from this abusive regime. Imagine people walking for kilometres simply because they are subjected to a useless and incompetent government that does not care about its citizens! Imagine walking from Elephant and Castle to the West End because the British Police has stopped available public transport after the government had destroyed London Underground ground and the London Transport buses or walking from Sandton City to Rosebank on foot.

This is the current situation at St Mary’s Bridge in Chitungwiza, a dormitory town next to Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. Residents of this town are being forced to walk home on foot after the Zimbabwean police blocked kombis from going beyond the bridge. Kombis are minibus taxis commonly used for public transport in Zimbabwe and are the main form of urban transport in the country. It is quite disheartening because Zimbabwe once had a thriving public transport system in all cities and towns, with buses comparable to those in many modern countries, but ZANUPF destroyed it. Chitungwiza, for instance, had a bus company called ZimElectro Motors (ZEM), which played a crucial role in providing affordable public transport for residents commuting between Chitungwiza and Harare during its operation. ZEM was owned by the Chitungwiza Town Council and was a municipally-run bus company established to provide affordable and reliable transport for residents of the town. However, when ZANUPF came into power, the company was driven into the ground. Money was looted, and unqualified managers were appointed. The rest, as they say, is history. Zimbabweans must realise that nobody is coming to save them from this abusive regime. Imagine people walking for kilometres simply because they are subjected to a useless and incompetent government that does not care about its citizens! Imagine walking from Elephant and Castle to the West End because the British Police has stopped available public transport after the government had destroyed London Underground ground and the London Transport buses or walking from Sandton City to Rosebank on foot.

Hopewell Chin’ono

85,156 просмотров • 1 год назад

Bengaluru is being strangled by a corrupt government that refuses to govern. The traffic crisis is worsening by the day, and the core reason is staring us in the face: the explosion of private vehicles. But instead of addressing this, the state government is fuelling it. Instead of building mass public transport, it has launched a war against it. At a time when every rupee of public money should be invested in making public transport more available, more affordable and more reliable, this government has done the opposite. It is punishing those who rely on public transport and actively incentivising more car and two-wheeler ownership. The state wants to spend ₹1 lakh crore to build 100 kilometres of new flyovers and 18 kilometres of tunnel roads - a gift wrapped package for the politician-contractor lobby. But here’s the punchline: more than 20 flyovers have been pending for close to eight years, lying incomplete across the city. Before even completing what it has already failed, the government wants to throw billions more at the same failure. This isn’t infrastructure building. This is an addiction to kickback-paying contracts. The ₹18,000 crore tunnel road is the peak of this madness — a vanity project that benefits only private cars while being a death sentence for the city’s public transport system. It will not serve the pedestrian, the cyclist, the commuter - it will serve only the cars, the SUVs. It won’t serve the common guy who uses the BMTC or the metro. While the government wants to build more roads, it is killing last mile connectivity. Carpooling, bike-sharing, and auto-sharing remain unsupported. It refuses to allow private players to run buses alongside BMTC, despite the overwhelming demand. Metro fares are being hiked unscientifically, pushing people away from mass transit instead of into it. Meanwhile, ridership in Metro is weakening. And the result? The roads are flooded with cars. A recent study by Bengaluru Traffic Police on Outer Ring Road found a 20% increase in vehicle numbers in just one year, resulting in a 125% increase in congestion. This is not sustainable. This will lead to a total collapse of the city. Every delay in Metro completion brings more cars onto the streets. Every step taken to weaken the bus system brings more two-wheelers into the chaos. Bengaluru already has more private vehicles than people. No other global city in our population bracket has done this because no other city has such a suicidal mobility policy. Let’s be clear: this government’s mobility policy is not citizen-centric. It is contractor-centric. It is not about moving people - it is about moving cars. This is a government in the grip of a politician-bureaucrat-contractor nexus, that would rather pour concrete than build a city that works. And who is paying the price? The nurse who takes the bus. The student who walks to the Metro. The delivery rider stuck in traffic. The poor and middle class of Bengaluru, who don’t own cars, but are cross-subsidising roads that are built exclusively for car owners. This is not just poor governance. It is structural injustice. This assault on Bengaluru must stop. Every rupee of public money must be redirected to public transport. That is the only globally proven solution to decongestion and cities with denser populations than ours have done it. What’s missing here is not technology or funds. What’s missing is political will. And that will won’t come from those in power. It must come from the people of Bengaluru. From those who are stuck in traffic and fed up of being lied to. From those who are tired of vanity projects and demand real mobility solutions. From a new generation of leadership that fights for commuters, not contractors. Bengaluru is choking. We can either demand change - or let this city be buried under its own traffic. Let’s tell loud and clear - Public Transport is our Fundamental Right. We need our government to provide it. My remarks at the World Symposium on Sustainability & Livability hosted by IISc Bangalore.

Bengaluru is being strangled by a corrupt government that refuses to govern. The traffic crisis is worsening by the day, and the core reason is staring us in the face: the explosion of private vehicles. But instead of addressing this, the state government is fuelling it. Instead of building mass public transport, it has launched a war against it. At a time when every rupee of public money should be invested in making public transport more available, more affordable and more reliable, this government has done the opposite. It is punishing those who rely on public transport and actively incentivising more car and two-wheeler ownership. The state wants to spend ₹1 lakh crore to build 100 kilometres of new flyovers and 18 kilometres of tunnel roads - a gift wrapped package for the politician-contractor lobby. But here’s the punchline: more than 20 flyovers have been pending for close to eight years, lying incomplete across the city. Before even completing what it has already failed, the government wants to throw billions more at the same failure. This isn’t infrastructure building. This is an addiction to kickback-paying contracts. The ₹18,000 crore tunnel road is the peak of this madness — a vanity project that benefits only private cars while being a death sentence for the city’s public transport system. It will not serve the pedestrian, the cyclist, the commuter - it will serve only the cars, the SUVs. It won’t serve the common guy who uses the BMTC or the metro. While the government wants to build more roads, it is killing last mile connectivity. Carpooling, bike-sharing, and auto-sharing remain unsupported. It refuses to allow private players to run buses alongside BMTC, despite the overwhelming demand. Metro fares are being hiked unscientifically, pushing people away from mass transit instead of into it. Meanwhile, ridership in Metro is weakening. And the result? The roads are flooded with cars. A recent study by Bengaluru Traffic Police on Outer Ring Road found a 20% increase in vehicle numbers in just one year, resulting in a 125% increase in congestion. This is not sustainable. This will lead to a total collapse of the city. Every delay in Metro completion brings more cars onto the streets. Every step taken to weaken the bus system brings more two-wheelers into the chaos. Bengaluru already has more private vehicles than people. No other global city in our population bracket has done this because no other city has such a suicidal mobility policy. Let’s be clear: this government’s mobility policy is not citizen-centric. It is contractor-centric. It is not about moving people - it is about moving cars. This is a government in the grip of a politician-bureaucrat-contractor nexus, that would rather pour concrete than build a city that works. And who is paying the price? The nurse who takes the bus. The student who walks to the Metro. The delivery rider stuck in traffic. The poor and middle class of Bengaluru, who don’t own cars, but are cross-subsidising roads that are built exclusively for car owners. This is not just poor governance. It is structural injustice. This assault on Bengaluru must stop. Every rupee of public money must be redirected to public transport. That is the only globally proven solution to decongestion and cities with denser populations than ours have done it. What’s missing here is not technology or funds. What’s missing is political will. And that will won’t come from those in power. It must come from the people of Bengaluru. From those who are stuck in traffic and fed up of being lied to. From those who are tired of vanity projects and demand real mobility solutions. From a new generation of leadership that fights for commuters, not contractors. Bengaluru is choking. We can either demand change - or let this city be buried under its own traffic. Let’s tell loud and clear - Public Transport is our Fundamental Right. We need our government to provide it. My remarks at the World Symposium on Sustainability & Livability hosted by IISc Bangalore.

Tejasvi Surya

83,789 просмотров • 1 год назад

When you pay sales tax, your money goes up to Ottawa and Queen’s Park. I’m moving a motion for Toronto to finally receive a share of the HST, to invest in the services you rely on here in your city, every day. Please sign the petition: It’s budget season again in Toronto and the cracks are showing between the City’s revenue and the services that the City is expected to provide. For decades, provincial and federal governments have downloaded responsibilities to the City including roads, shelters, courts, daycare, public health and more. Today, approximately 27% of Toronto’s property tax revenue is spent funding extensions of federal and provincial responsibilities. But even as Toronto is told to take on more, the province prescribes what revenue tools are available to the City, and has restricted them almost exclusively to taxes on property. Toronto is one of Canada’s primary economic engines. The Toronto region generates 20% of the national GDP, 20% of Ontario’s jobs, and attracts more than 28 million annual visitors. This level of economic activity is enabled by the investments our city has made in social and civic infrastructure, including affordable housing, public health, roads and transit. We host people from across the country and around the world at events like Taylor Swift concerts, the World Series, and the FIFA games, which generates tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue for the provincial and federal governments. Meanwhile, the City shoulders the costs of additional policing, emergency services, transit, and crowd management that make these events possible. The math doesn’t work. Without any other source of revenue, municipalities have been forced to hike property taxes, cut vital services and delay critical infrastructure investments just to stay afloat. If Toronto is expected to continue driving national prosperity, it must be granted access to revenue tools that are predictable, reflect our investments, and grow with the economy. No more “new deals”. No more begging for one-time ad hoc program funding. It’s time for Toronto to have a fair share of the HST.

When you pay sales tax, your money goes up to Ottawa and Queen’s Park. I’m moving a motion for Toronto to finally receive a share of the HST, to invest in the services you rely on here in your city, every day. Please sign the petition: It’s budget season again in Toronto and the cracks are showing between the City’s revenue and the services that the City is expected to provide. For decades, provincial and federal governments have downloaded responsibilities to the City including roads, shelters, courts, daycare, public health and more. Today, approximately 27% of Toronto’s property tax revenue is spent funding extensions of federal and provincial responsibilities. But even as Toronto is told to take on more, the province prescribes what revenue tools are available to the City, and has restricted them almost exclusively to taxes on property. Toronto is one of Canada’s primary economic engines. The Toronto region generates 20% of the national GDP, 20% of Ontario’s jobs, and attracts more than 28 million annual visitors. This level of economic activity is enabled by the investments our city has made in social and civic infrastructure, including affordable housing, public health, roads and transit. We host people from across the country and around the world at events like Taylor Swift concerts, the World Series, and the FIFA games, which generates tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue for the provincial and federal governments. Meanwhile, the City shoulders the costs of additional policing, emergency services, transit, and crowd management that make these events possible. The math doesn’t work. Without any other source of revenue, municipalities have been forced to hike property taxes, cut vital services and delay critical infrastructure investments just to stay afloat. If Toronto is expected to continue driving national prosperity, it must be granted access to revenue tools that are predictable, reflect our investments, and grow with the economy. No more “new deals”. No more begging for one-time ad hoc program funding. It’s time for Toronto to have a fair share of the HST.

Josh Matlow

23,419 просмотров • 6 месяцев назад

“Taxpayers Pay, Passengers Pray: Shocking State of Karnataka Government Buses” The condition of this North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation bus is deeply alarming and raises serious questions about passenger safety. Just by observing the bus from behind, it is clearly visible that the vehicle is moving in a zigzag manner. The bus body appears to be drifting in one direction, while the tyres seem to be moving in another. This is not a minor technical flaw it is a danger waiting to turn into a tragedy. Is this how public transport is supposed to function in Karnataka? Are passengers’ lives so cheap that such visibly unsafe vehicles are allowed to operate on public roads? One sudden brake, one sharp turn, or one pothole could result in a major accident. Hundreds of daily commuters students, workers, senior citizens are unknowingly being put at risk. How can transport officials ignore such an obvious safety hazard? Is there no routine inspection, no accountability, and no responsibility towards citizens? Or has human life become secondary to negligence, corruption, and poor governance? Citizens of Karnataka pay taxes expecting safe infrastructure and quality public services, not buses that look like they could collapse or overturn at any moment. If taxpayers’ money cannot ensure basic roadworthiness of government buses, then where exactly is that money going? This reflects a larger failure of the Government of Karnataka, particularly the transport administration under Ramalinga Reddy Grand announcements and slogans mean nothing if ground reality is this dangerous and irresponsible. Public transport is not a luxury it is a lifeline. Allowing such buses on roads is not just incompetence; it is criminal negligence. The government must stop treating safety audits as paperwork formalities and take immediate corrective action.Before another accident headline shocks the state, the authorities must answer one simple question: Are Karnataka citizens’ lives worth less than convenience and cost-cutting? Strict action, immediate inspection, and accountability are not optional they are long overdue. #bangalore #bengaluru #ksrtc खुरपेंच Megh Updates 🚨™ KSRTC DK Shivakumar Siddaramaiah ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ನಗರ ಪೊಲೀಸ್‌ BengaluruCityPolice CP Bengaluru ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಆಯುಕ್ತ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು K Ramarajan IPS, SP Belagavi DGP KARNATAKA ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಪೊಲೀಸ್ Karnataka State Police S. Lalitha ChristinMathewPhilip

“Taxpayers Pay, Passengers Pray: Shocking State of Karnataka Government Buses” The condition of this North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation bus is deeply alarming and raises serious questions about passenger safety. Just by observing the bus from behind, it is clearly visible that the vehicle is moving in a zigzag manner. The bus body appears to be drifting in one direction, while the tyres seem to be moving in another. This is not a minor technical flaw it is a danger waiting to turn into a tragedy. Is this how public transport is supposed to function in Karnataka? Are passengers’ lives so cheap that such visibly unsafe vehicles are allowed to operate on public roads? One sudden brake, one sharp turn, or one pothole could result in a major accident. Hundreds of daily commuters students, workers, senior citizens are unknowingly being put at risk. How can transport officials ignore such an obvious safety hazard? Is there no routine inspection, no accountability, and no responsibility towards citizens? Or has human life become secondary to negligence, corruption, and poor governance? Citizens of Karnataka pay taxes expecting safe infrastructure and quality public services, not buses that look like they could collapse or overturn at any moment. If taxpayers’ money cannot ensure basic roadworthiness of government buses, then where exactly is that money going? This reflects a larger failure of the Government of Karnataka, particularly the transport administration under Ramalinga Reddy Grand announcements and slogans mean nothing if ground reality is this dangerous and irresponsible. Public transport is not a luxury it is a lifeline. Allowing such buses on roads is not just incompetence; it is criminal negligence. The government must stop treating safety audits as paperwork formalities and take immediate corrective action.Before another accident headline shocks the state, the authorities must answer one simple question: Are Karnataka citizens’ lives worth less than convenience and cost-cutting? Strict action, immediate inspection, and accountability are not optional they are long overdue. #bangalore #bengaluru #ksrtc खुरपेंच Megh Updates 🚨™ KSRTC DK Shivakumar Siddaramaiah ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ನಗರ ಪೊಲೀಸ್‌ BengaluruCityPolice CP Bengaluru ಪೊಲೀಸ್ ಆಯುಕ್ತ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು K Ramarajan IPS, SP Belagavi DGP KARNATAKA ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಪೊಲೀಸ್ Karnataka State Police S. Lalitha ChristinMathewPhilip

Karnataka Portfolio

28,761 просмотров • 8 месяцев назад

🚨BENEFITS OF DEDICATED BUS LANES🚨🇷🇼 🚍1. FASTER &RELIABLE TRAVEL •Buses avoid traffic congestion •Travel time becomes shorter and more predictable. •This improves schedule adherence and reduces passenger uncertainty. •Fewer delays, better punctuality. 📊 Example: •Before: Travel time varies between 20–45 minutes due to traffic •After: Travel time becomes 20–25 minutes consistently. 👉 Plan your journey with confidence ⏱️ 2. REDUCED WAITING TIME •Faster circulation allows buses to complete routes quicker. •Operators can provide more frequent service using the same fleet. •Less waiting at stops 📊 Example: •Before: One bus every 20 minutes → average waiting time ≈ 10 minutes •After: Faster trips allow one bus every 10 minutes → average waiting time ≈ 5 minute 👌Waiting time is cut by 50%, without adding more buses—just by improving speed and circulation. 👉 Save time every day. 🌍 3. ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS •Encourages people to shift from private cars to public transport. •Reduces traffic congestion, fuel consumption, and emissions. •Supports cleaner urban mobility and climate goals. 📊 Example: •Before: 1,000 people travel using 700 cars (average 1.4 persons/car) •After: 500 people shift to buses → only 350 cars remain. 👌350 fewer cars on the road → significant reduction in fuel use and emissions 👉 Move toward sustainable mobility 💰 4. COST EFFICIENCY •Higher speeds mean buses can serve more trips per day. •Better fleet utilization reduces the need for additional buses. •Lower operational costs per passenger. 📊 Example: •Before: One bus completes 4 trips/day •After: With faster lanes, same bus completes 6 trips/day •To serve 60 trips: Before → 15 buses needed After → 10 buses needed 👌 5 buses saved, reducing fuel, maintenance, and staffing costs 👉 Efficient & financially sustainable 💰 5. INCREASED PASSENGER CAPACITY •One dedicated bus lane can carry far more people than a car lane. •Moves large volumes efficiently, especially during peak hours. •Ideal for high-demand corridors. 📊 Example: •Car lane: 1,000 cars/hour × 1.5 persons ≈ 1,500 people/hour •Bus lane: 60 buses/hour × 50 passengers ≈ 3,000 people/hour 👌 Bus lane carries 2× more people using the same road space 👉 Move people, not just vehicles 🛣️ 6. IMPROVED ROAD SAFETY •Separate buses from traffic •Fewer conflicts & accidents •Safer for pedestrians & cyclists 📊 Example: •Before: 10 conflict points (cars + buses mixing at intersections and lanes) •After: Reduced to 4 conflict points with separated lanes 👉 Accidents drop, for example, from 20/year → 12/year (40% reduction) 🏙️ 7. SUSTAINABLE URBAN GROWTH •Supports compact city development:People live closer to transit •Reduces car dependency: More people choose buses •Better land use. 📊 Example: •Before: 70% of people rely on cars •After: Public transport share increases to 50% 👌 Less need for parking and wide roads → land can be used for housing, shops, and public spaces 👉 🏙️ Build smarter cities 📈 8. ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY •Less time in traffic •More time for work & life •Better access to jobs & services 📊 Example: •Before: 10,000 commuters lose 30 minutes/day in traffic Total lost time = 5,000 hours/day •After: Time lost reduced to 15 minutes/day Total lost time = 2,500 hours/day 👌 2,500 hours saved daily → more time for work and economic activity 👉 📈 Boost city efficiency ⚖️ 9. SOCIAL EQUITY •Provides faster, affordable mobility for all income groups. •Especially benefits those who rely on public transport daily. •Promotes inclusive urban development. 📊 Example: •Before: Low-income workers spend 90 minutes commuting •After: Travel time reduced to 60 minutes 👌 30 minutes saved daily, improving access to jobs and quality of life 👌 Affordable bus fares benefit 100% of users, not just car owners 👉 ⚖️ A system that works for everyone. 👏 Dedicated bus lanes: A simple solution with powerful impact.

🚨BENEFITS OF DEDICATED BUS LANES🚨🇷🇼 🚍1. FASTER &RELIABLE TRAVEL •Buses avoid traffic congestion •Travel time becomes shorter and more predictable. •This improves schedule adherence and reduces passenger uncertainty. •Fewer delays, better punctuality. 📊 Example: •Before: Travel time varies between 20–45 minutes due to traffic •After: Travel time becomes 20–25 minutes consistently. 👉 Plan your journey with confidence ⏱️ 2. REDUCED WAITING TIME •Faster circulation allows buses to complete routes quicker. •Operators can provide more frequent service using the same fleet. •Less waiting at stops 📊 Example: •Before: One bus every 20 minutes → average waiting time ≈ 10 minutes •After: Faster trips allow one bus every 10 minutes → average waiting time ≈ 5 minute 👌Waiting time is cut by 50%, without adding more buses—just by improving speed and circulation. 👉 Save time every day. 🌍 3. ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS •Encourages people to shift from private cars to public transport. •Reduces traffic congestion, fuel consumption, and emissions. •Supports cleaner urban mobility and climate goals. 📊 Example: •Before: 1,000 people travel using 700 cars (average 1.4 persons/car) •After: 500 people shift to buses → only 350 cars remain. 👌350 fewer cars on the road → significant reduction in fuel use and emissions 👉 Move toward sustainable mobility 💰 4. COST EFFICIENCY •Higher speeds mean buses can serve more trips per day. •Better fleet utilization reduces the need for additional buses. •Lower operational costs per passenger. 📊 Example: •Before: One bus completes 4 trips/day •After: With faster lanes, same bus completes 6 trips/day •To serve 60 trips: Before → 15 buses needed After → 10 buses needed 👌 5 buses saved, reducing fuel, maintenance, and staffing costs 👉 Efficient & financially sustainable 💰 5. INCREASED PASSENGER CAPACITY •One dedicated bus lane can carry far more people than a car lane. •Moves large volumes efficiently, especially during peak hours. •Ideal for high-demand corridors. 📊 Example: •Car lane: 1,000 cars/hour × 1.5 persons ≈ 1,500 people/hour •Bus lane: 60 buses/hour × 50 passengers ≈ 3,000 people/hour 👌 Bus lane carries 2× more people using the same road space 👉 Move people, not just vehicles 🛣️ 6. IMPROVED ROAD SAFETY •Separate buses from traffic •Fewer conflicts & accidents •Safer for pedestrians & cyclists 📊 Example: •Before: 10 conflict points (cars + buses mixing at intersections and lanes) •After: Reduced to 4 conflict points with separated lanes 👉 Accidents drop, for example, from 20/year → 12/year (40% reduction) 🏙️ 7. SUSTAINABLE URBAN GROWTH •Supports compact city development:People live closer to transit •Reduces car dependency: More people choose buses •Better land use. 📊 Example: •Before: 70% of people rely on cars •After: Public transport share increases to 50% 👌 Less need for parking and wide roads → land can be used for housing, shops, and public spaces 👉 🏙️ Build smarter cities 📈 8. ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY •Less time in traffic •More time for work & life •Better access to jobs & services 📊 Example: •Before: 10,000 commuters lose 30 minutes/day in traffic Total lost time = 5,000 hours/day •After: Time lost reduced to 15 minutes/day Total lost time = 2,500 hours/day 👌 2,500 hours saved daily → more time for work and economic activity 👉 📈 Boost city efficiency ⚖️ 9. SOCIAL EQUITY •Provides faster, affordable mobility for all income groups. •Especially benefits those who rely on public transport daily. •Promotes inclusive urban development. 📊 Example: •Before: Low-income workers spend 90 minutes commuting •After: Travel time reduced to 60 minutes 👌 30 minutes saved daily, improving access to jobs and quality of life 👌 Affordable bus fares benefit 100% of users, not just car owners 👉 ⚖️ A system that works for everyone. 👏 Dedicated bus lanes: A simple solution with powerful impact.

Dr. NDARUHUTSE Jean Claude, PhD

15,920 просмотров • 3 месяцев назад

The City of Chicago booted my car because they confused my license plate with another vehicle. I have video of a dispatcher acknowledging the mistake. Let that sink in. A city system with the power to immobilize your vehicle, disrupt your workday, cost you money, embarrass you publicly, and force you into a bureaucratic nightmare could not even verify the correct plate before taking action. This is not just about me. This is about every Chicagoan — especially South Side residents — who may be dealing with careless enforcement, wrongful penalties, impossible customer service, and city systems that treat people like they are guilty until they can prove otherwise. When government makes a mistake, the burden should not fall on the resident to fight through confusion, delays, fees, lost time, and stress. Chicago needs accountability. I am calling for: ✅ Immediate removal of wrongful boots when city error is confirmed ✅ Full dismissal of any fees connected to mistaken enforcement ✅ Written confirmation and documentation of the city’s error ✅ A clear appeals process that does not punish residents for mistakes they did not make ✅ Better verification before boots are placed on vehicles ✅ Public reporting on wrongful booting incidents and city error rates ✅ Accountability for departments and contractors involved in repeated mistakes ✅ Faster response times when residents present evidence of city error ✅ Reimbursement for residents who lose money because of wrongful enforcement If the city can make this mistake with me, how many residents without a camera, a platform, or time to fight back are being forced to pay for mistakes they did not make? This is what happens when government has too much power and too little diligence. Chicago residents deserve competence. South Side families deserve respect. And no taxpayer should have to pay the price for the city’s failure to do its job correctly.

The City of Chicago booted my car because they confused my license plate with another vehicle. I have video of a dispatcher acknowledging the mistake. Let that sink in. A city system with the power to immobilize your vehicle, disrupt your workday, cost you money, embarrass you publicly, and force you into a bureaucratic nightmare could not even verify the correct plate before taking action. This is not just about me. This is about every Chicagoan — especially South Side residents — who may be dealing with careless enforcement, wrongful penalties, impossible customer service, and city systems that treat people like they are guilty until they can prove otherwise. When government makes a mistake, the burden should not fall on the resident to fight through confusion, delays, fees, lost time, and stress. Chicago needs accountability. I am calling for: ✅ Immediate removal of wrongful boots when city error is confirmed ✅ Full dismissal of any fees connected to mistaken enforcement ✅ Written confirmation and documentation of the city’s error ✅ A clear appeals process that does not punish residents for mistakes they did not make ✅ Better verification before boots are placed on vehicles ✅ Public reporting on wrongful booting incidents and city error rates ✅ Accountability for departments and contractors involved in repeated mistakes ✅ Faster response times when residents present evidence of city error ✅ Reimbursement for residents who lose money because of wrongful enforcement If the city can make this mistake with me, how many residents without a camera, a platform, or time to fight back are being forced to pay for mistakes they did not make? This is what happens when government has too much power and too little diligence. Chicago residents deserve competence. South Side families deserve respect. And no taxpayer should have to pay the price for the city’s failure to do its job correctly.

Christian Maxwell For Congress | IL-CD1

30,756 просмотров • 29 дней назад

This is Waterfalls, a medium-density suburb in Harare, with big houses on large stands. In colonial times, it was mainly a white suburb. In London terms, you could compare it to somewhere like Croydon, and in Johannesburg to a place like Norwood. Now look at the road in this video. Here is the joke. The Minister of Transport, the man responsible for this disaster, was recently declared Minister of the Year in Zimbabwe. In other words, he was judged the best minister in the entire cabinet under Emmerson Mnangagwa. Just imagine how catastrophically useless the rest of them must be to be beaten by someone presiding over this level of decay. When we talk about incompetence, corruption, and the looting of public funds, some people think we are just politicking. This is what we are talking about. This is supposed to be a relatively affluent suburb. Yet motorists are forced to abandon what is meant to be the road just to get where they are going. Sometimes they have to drive on the wrong side because it is slightly less destroyed, and then they get fined for it. This is not an accident. This is what happens when a country is run by an incompetent, corrupt, and ruthless mafia. This is today’s Zimbabwe. Perhaps it is important for me to share a bit of history. When Zimbabwe became independent in 1980, roads were controlled, repaired, and maintained by local authorities, the city councils. When the ZANUPF government realised how much money was coming from motorists, they took over control of the roads and of the taxes that are supposed to ensure that roads are properly maintained. These include vehicle licence fees, tollgate fees on highways, carbon tax, and taxes from fuel. Every dollar spent at the fuel pump includes a portion that is supposed to go to road maintenance. This is a revenue stream close to a billion dollars every year. There is no shortage of money. Zimbabweans pay four different taxes just to own and use a car. The problem is that this money is looted. This is the money that should be fixing these roads. Instead, it is being stolen. They do not just steal the road tax money. They also steal from motorists again when people are forced to repair damage caused by this dilapidated road infrastructure, and then they congratulate the minister responsible with an award for it.

This is Waterfalls, a medium-density suburb in Harare, with big houses on large stands. In colonial times, it was mainly a white suburb. In London terms, you could compare it to somewhere like Croydon, and in Johannesburg to a place like Norwood. Now look at the road in this video. Here is the joke. The Minister of Transport, the man responsible for this disaster, was recently declared Minister of the Year in Zimbabwe. In other words, he was judged the best minister in the entire cabinet under Emmerson Mnangagwa. Just imagine how catastrophically useless the rest of them must be to be beaten by someone presiding over this level of decay. When we talk about incompetence, corruption, and the looting of public funds, some people think we are just politicking. This is what we are talking about. This is supposed to be a relatively affluent suburb. Yet motorists are forced to abandon what is meant to be the road just to get where they are going. Sometimes they have to drive on the wrong side because it is slightly less destroyed, and then they get fined for it. This is not an accident. This is what happens when a country is run by an incompetent, corrupt, and ruthless mafia. This is today’s Zimbabwe. Perhaps it is important for me to share a bit of history. When Zimbabwe became independent in 1980, roads were controlled, repaired, and maintained by local authorities, the city councils. When the ZANUPF government realised how much money was coming from motorists, they took over control of the roads and of the taxes that are supposed to ensure that roads are properly maintained. These include vehicle licence fees, tollgate fees on highways, carbon tax, and taxes from fuel. Every dollar spent at the fuel pump includes a portion that is supposed to go to road maintenance. This is a revenue stream close to a billion dollars every year. There is no shortage of money. Zimbabweans pay four different taxes just to own and use a car. The problem is that this money is looted. This is the money that should be fixing these roads. Instead, it is being stolen. They do not just steal the road tax money. They also steal from motorists again when people are forced to repair damage caused by this dilapidated road infrastructure, and then they congratulate the minister responsible with an award for it.

Hopewell Chin’ono

93,359 просмотров • 7 месяцев назад

🚨NYC Shutting Down Another Traffic Lane – Causing More Gridlock and Making You Pay for It !! 🚨 I’ve been investigating the streets of New York City for a long time. As a NYC driver, I see firsthand how congestion and traffic aren’t just happening by accident—they’re being created by the city’s own bad street designs. And now, they expect us to pay for it with congestion pricing, draining the wallets of middle- and lower-class New Yorkers. Last month alone, the city made over $50 million from congestion pricing—money taken straight from the pockets of hardworking New Yorkers who have no choice but to drive. And instead of fixing the streets, they’re making things even worse. Now, the city is rolling out a new street design that will shut down another traffic lane on Sixth Avenue to make way for a double-wide bike lane. This means fewer lanes for cars, leading to even more gridlock in one of the busiest parts of Manhattan. Sixth Avenue is already packed with delivery trucks, taxis, rideshares, buses, and regular commuters—now the city is making it worse by cutting down road space even further. What do they think is going to happen when they remove a lane of traffic from one of the most congested streets in Midtown? Traffic will back up even more, drivers will be forced to sit in gridlock for longer periods, and emergency vehicles will struggle to get through. This isn't about making the streets better—this is about making it impossible to drive in NYC, forcing people to give up their cars and rely on an already broken public transit system. Meanwhile, bike lanes keep getting expanded while the city ignores the real traffic problems. The reality is, bike lanes aren’t being used nearly as much as the city wants you to believe. Most of the time, they sit empty, while cars and buses are crammed into fewer and fewer lanes. This isn’t about safety—it’s about forcing an anti-car agenda on the people who actually need to drive. And what’s their solution? They want to force you onto the subway—a transit system that’s more dangerous than ever. Over the past few months, we’ve all seen the rise in subway violence—stabbings, robberies, and assaults happening daily. The same politicians who created this mess, like Governor Hochul and the MTA, expect us to just accept it. Instead of making the trains safer, they’re making driving impossible. And let’s talk about the MTA—New York’s never-ending money pit. Billions of dollars pour into the system every year, and yet we never see any real improvements. Trains still break down, stations are filthy, service is unreliable, and crime is out of control. The MTA always claims they need more funding, yet no one ever asks where all the money is actually going. Meanwhile, the people who rely on the subway are stuck dealing with fare hikes, delays, and dangerous conditions. But the damage doesn’t stop there. I’ve been speaking with business owners throughout New York City, and they all tell me the same thing—sales are down since congestion pricing rolled out. With fewer people driving into the city, foot traffic has dropped, and small businesses are suffering. Shops, restaurants, and other local businesses that rely on a steady flow of customers are now seeing empty stores and struggling to stay afloat. Business owners have told me the city just isn’t the same anymore. This isn’t about reducing congestion—it’s about punishing drivers, killing small businesses, and squeezing more money out of the people who can least afford it. New York City is no longer a place for the working class. The politicians and bureaucrats behind this mess don’t care—because they’re not the ones stuck in traffic, struggling to run a business, or riding the subways in fear. We are.

🚨NYC Shutting Down Another Traffic Lane – Causing More Gridlock and Making You Pay for It !! 🚨 I’ve been investigating the streets of New York City for a long time. As a NYC driver, I see firsthand how congestion and traffic aren’t just happening by accident—they’re being created by the city’s own bad street designs. And now, they expect us to pay for it with congestion pricing, draining the wallets of middle- and lower-class New Yorkers. Last month alone, the city made over $50 million from congestion pricing—money taken straight from the pockets of hardworking New Yorkers who have no choice but to drive. And instead of fixing the streets, they’re making things even worse. Now, the city is rolling out a new street design that will shut down another traffic lane on Sixth Avenue to make way for a double-wide bike lane. This means fewer lanes for cars, leading to even more gridlock in one of the busiest parts of Manhattan. Sixth Avenue is already packed with delivery trucks, taxis, rideshares, buses, and regular commuters—now the city is making it worse by cutting down road space even further. What do they think is going to happen when they remove a lane of traffic from one of the most congested streets in Midtown? Traffic will back up even more, drivers will be forced to sit in gridlock for longer periods, and emergency vehicles will struggle to get through. This isn't about making the streets better—this is about making it impossible to drive in NYC, forcing people to give up their cars and rely on an already broken public transit system. Meanwhile, bike lanes keep getting expanded while the city ignores the real traffic problems. The reality is, bike lanes aren’t being used nearly as much as the city wants you to believe. Most of the time, they sit empty, while cars and buses are crammed into fewer and fewer lanes. This isn’t about safety—it’s about forcing an anti-car agenda on the people who actually need to drive. And what’s their solution? They want to force you onto the subway—a transit system that’s more dangerous than ever. Over the past few months, we’ve all seen the rise in subway violence—stabbings, robberies, and assaults happening daily. The same politicians who created this mess, like Governor Hochul and the MTA, expect us to just accept it. Instead of making the trains safer, they’re making driving impossible. And let’s talk about the MTA—New York’s never-ending money pit. Billions of dollars pour into the system every year, and yet we never see any real improvements. Trains still break down, stations are filthy, service is unreliable, and crime is out of control. The MTA always claims they need more funding, yet no one ever asks where all the money is actually going. Meanwhile, the people who rely on the subway are stuck dealing with fare hikes, delays, and dangerous conditions. But the damage doesn’t stop there. I’ve been speaking with business owners throughout New York City, and they all tell me the same thing—sales are down since congestion pricing rolled out. With fewer people driving into the city, foot traffic has dropped, and small businesses are suffering. Shops, restaurants, and other local businesses that rely on a steady flow of customers are now seeing empty stores and struggling to stay afloat. Business owners have told me the city just isn’t the same anymore. This isn’t about reducing congestion—it’s about punishing drivers, killing small businesses, and squeezing more money out of the people who can least afford it. New York City is no longer a place for the working class. The politicians and bureaucrats behind this mess don’t care—because they’re not the ones stuck in traffic, struggling to run a business, or riding the subways in fear. We are.

Viral News NYC

149,961 просмотров • 1 год назад

Caleb Hammer explains to a liberal guest that Amazon already pays taxes for public infrastructure after she argued the company should fund road improvements instead of the city. Caleb: Dude, you’re broken. Guest: What is it, please? Caleb: Okay, get your point. Get your point. Guest: So, very specifically, there’s an Amazon warehouse, and I just saw a Walmart one right next to it the other day built off of a two-lane road. But that traffic now… Caleb: Crazy. Guest: …that two-lane road wouldn’t be a problem if Amazon wasn’t there. Caleb: That’s the city’s responsibility! Guest: It should be Amazon’s responsibility. Caleb: To pay for public… Guest: Because that two-lane road wouldn’t be a problem if Amazon wasn’t there. Caleb: That’s actually impressive. I’ve never witnessed someone so far left that they’re actually advocating for degrowth policies. I’ve never seen someone in real life advocate for a degrowth policy. That’s one of the most impressive things I’ve ever heard in my life. Guest: I’m not saying not build them. I’m saying they need to put the infrastructure around them so it doesn’t negatively affect… Caleb: Why is it the warehouse’s responsibility? It’s the city. Guest: They’re building in rural areas where this two-lane road is an issue. Caleb: So New York City, we want them to add more housing so people can afford more, right? Guest: Yes. Caleb: Should it be the people who build the housing’s fault to add an extra lane to the highway because more people are moving in? Guest: They should have some sort of responsibility in it. Caleb: They pay taxes. Property taxes, which those warehouses certainly do, and income taxes paid to the state and redistributed to the city. It’s your city’s fault for not allocating the resources properly. Advocate for that. Caleb: Girl, there’s lots of things I can complain about Amazon for. Some of the working conditions with heat, that was bad. You and me can be on the same page for that. But you went and advocated for a degrowth policy. That’s one of the most insane things I’ve ever heard in my life. Guest: I’m not saying they should be fully responsible, but they should… Caleb: They’re paying taxes. They’re paying taxes for that infrastructure. If the city decides not to upgrade it, that’s on the city. Vote for someone different.

Caleb Hammer explains to a liberal guest that Amazon already pays taxes for public infrastructure after she argued the company should fund road improvements instead of the city. Caleb: Dude, you’re broken. Guest: What is it, please? Caleb: Okay, get your point. Get your point. Guest: So, very specifically, there’s an Amazon warehouse, and I just saw a Walmart one right next to it the other day built off of a two-lane road. But that traffic now… Caleb: Crazy. Guest: …that two-lane road wouldn’t be a problem if Amazon wasn’t there. Caleb: That’s the city’s responsibility! Guest: It should be Amazon’s responsibility. Caleb: To pay for public… Guest: Because that two-lane road wouldn’t be a problem if Amazon wasn’t there. Caleb: That’s actually impressive. I’ve never witnessed someone so far left that they’re actually advocating for degrowth policies. I’ve never seen someone in real life advocate for a degrowth policy. That’s one of the most impressive things I’ve ever heard in my life. Guest: I’m not saying not build them. I’m saying they need to put the infrastructure around them so it doesn’t negatively affect… Caleb: Why is it the warehouse’s responsibility? It’s the city. Guest: They’re building in rural areas where this two-lane road is an issue. Caleb: So New York City, we want them to add more housing so people can afford more, right? Guest: Yes. Caleb: Should it be the people who build the housing’s fault to add an extra lane to the highway because more people are moving in? Guest: They should have some sort of responsibility in it. Caleb: They pay taxes. Property taxes, which those warehouses certainly do, and income taxes paid to the state and redistributed to the city. It’s your city’s fault for not allocating the resources properly. Advocate for that. Caleb: Girl, there’s lots of things I can complain about Amazon for. Some of the working conditions with heat, that was bad. You and me can be on the same page for that. But you went and advocated for a degrowth policy. That’s one of the most insane things I’ve ever heard in my life. Guest: I’m not saying they should be fully responsible, but they should… Caleb: They’re paying taxes. They’re paying taxes for that infrastructure. If the city decides not to upgrade it, that’s on the city. Vote for someone different.

gee

390,841 просмотров • 20 дней назад

This is the Gokwe–Binga highway in Zimbabwe. These trucks have been stuck here for more than three days because of the terrible condition of the road. One of the trucks hit a massive pothole, or perhaps a sinkhole, and the impact damaged its suspension, including the springs and shock absorbers. The truck could no longer move, effectively blocking the road and leaving the other trucks stranded. This is exactly what we mean when we talk about the incompetence, corruption and failure of governance under the ZANUPF government. Look at the attached video. This is no longer a question of routine road maintenance. This road needs to be reconstructed. There is barely a proper road here at all, let alone a tarred highway. And yet millions of dollars’ worth of goods are transported along these routes every day by the Chinese. The companies using these roads pay taxes, licences, fuel levies and other charges to the government. In return, they are being forced to operate on roads that are barely passable. This is not just an inconvenience. It has a direct economic cost to everyone. Trucks lose days sitting idle. Transport companies lose money. Businesses face delays. Goods take longer to reach their destinations. Vehicle maintenance costs increase. Ultimately, those costs are passed on to consumers, YOU. And this is where the failure becomes even more difficult to understand. Zimbabwe is strategically located between major regional markets, yet we cannot maintain the basic infrastructure required to move goods efficiently. A functioning economy depends on roads and railways that work. In an ordinary, functional country, you would also expect a significant proportion of heavy bulk freight to be moved by an efficient railway network rather than putting enormous pressure on already inadequate roads. Zimbabwe inherited an extensive railway network from the Rhodesian era, but decades of neglect by ZANUPF have left much of that infrastructure severely degraded. This is the bigger tragedy that we can imagine. Zimbabwe has the natural resources, the agricultural potential, the geographical position and the human talent to be a prosperous country. What is missing is competent, accountable governance and the political will to maintain the infrastructure that keeps the economy moving without stealing state funds. Where corruption and political patronage determine who gets contracts, who gets licences and who gets access to opportunities, public infrastructure becomes an afterthought. Money that should be going into roads, railways, hospitals, schools and other public services can instead disappear through corruption, inflated contracts, procurement abuse and political patronage. This is not about hating ZANUPF, hating China, or being anti-government. It is about demanding accountability from the people who have been entrusted with running the country and are holding the national purse. If a government cannot maintain something as fundamental as a major transport corridor, how can it realistically claim that Zimbabwe is developing? You cannot build a modern economy on roads like this. You cannot talk about industrialisation while trucks carrying millions of dollars’ worth of goods are stuck for days because there is effectively no road. You cannot talk about economic growth while the infrastructure that supports that economy is collapsing. And you cannot hide the reality on the ground with propaganda, speeches and political slogans. Zimbabwe has increasingly become a case study in how not to run a country. The pictures tell the story. No amount of propaganda can change what people see with their own eyes. We love Zimbabwe. That is precisely why we should be angry about this. Loving your country means demanding better from those who govern it. Where is the money paid daily through toll gate fees, license discs, environmental levies, and more? If it is not being looted, why are the roads not fixed.

This is the Gokwe–Binga highway in Zimbabwe. These trucks have been stuck here for more than three days because of the terrible condition of the road. One of the trucks hit a massive pothole, or perhaps a sinkhole, and the impact damaged its suspension, including the springs and shock absorbers. The truck could no longer move, effectively blocking the road and leaving the other trucks stranded. This is exactly what we mean when we talk about the incompetence, corruption and failure of governance under the ZANUPF government. Look at the attached video. This is no longer a question of routine road maintenance. This road needs to be reconstructed. There is barely a proper road here at all, let alone a tarred highway. And yet millions of dollars’ worth of goods are transported along these routes every day by the Chinese. The companies using these roads pay taxes, licences, fuel levies and other charges to the government. In return, they are being forced to operate on roads that are barely passable. This is not just an inconvenience. It has a direct economic cost to everyone. Trucks lose days sitting idle. Transport companies lose money. Businesses face delays. Goods take longer to reach their destinations. Vehicle maintenance costs increase. Ultimately, those costs are passed on to consumers, YOU. And this is where the failure becomes even more difficult to understand. Zimbabwe is strategically located between major regional markets, yet we cannot maintain the basic infrastructure required to move goods efficiently. A functioning economy depends on roads and railways that work. In an ordinary, functional country, you would also expect a significant proportion of heavy bulk freight to be moved by an efficient railway network rather than putting enormous pressure on already inadequate roads. Zimbabwe inherited an extensive railway network from the Rhodesian era, but decades of neglect by ZANUPF have left much of that infrastructure severely degraded. This is the bigger tragedy that we can imagine. Zimbabwe has the natural resources, the agricultural potential, the geographical position and the human talent to be a prosperous country. What is missing is competent, accountable governance and the political will to maintain the infrastructure that keeps the economy moving without stealing state funds. Where corruption and political patronage determine who gets contracts, who gets licences and who gets access to opportunities, public infrastructure becomes an afterthought. Money that should be going into roads, railways, hospitals, schools and other public services can instead disappear through corruption, inflated contracts, procurement abuse and political patronage. This is not about hating ZANUPF, hating China, or being anti-government. It is about demanding accountability from the people who have been entrusted with running the country and are holding the national purse. If a government cannot maintain something as fundamental as a major transport corridor, how can it realistically claim that Zimbabwe is developing? You cannot build a modern economy on roads like this. You cannot talk about industrialisation while trucks carrying millions of dollars’ worth of goods are stuck for days because there is effectively no road. You cannot talk about economic growth while the infrastructure that supports that economy is collapsing. And you cannot hide the reality on the ground with propaganda, speeches and political slogans. Zimbabwe has increasingly become a case study in how not to run a country. The pictures tell the story. No amount of propaganda can change what people see with their own eyes. We love Zimbabwe. That is precisely why we should be angry about this. Loving your country means demanding better from those who govern it. Where is the money paid daily through toll gate fees, license discs, environmental levies, and more? If it is not being looted, why are the roads not fixed.

Hopewell Chin’ono

77,559 просмотров • 11 дней назад

"Courage is far shorter in supply than genius." - Peter Thiel "One of the challenges in writing a book about entrepreneurship or teaching a class on this is that there is sort of no formula. And I think science always starts with a number two. It starts with experiments you can repeat, things you can do over and over again. But there's sort of a sense in which every moment in the history of business, every moment in the history of technology happens only once. The next Mark Zuckerberg will not be starting a social networking company. The next Larry Page will not start a search engine. The next Bill Gates will not be starting an operating system. And so if you are trying to copy these people, you're in some sense not learning from them. And so I think one of the really big challenges in teaching or writing about entrepreneurship is what can you say about being an entrepreneur at all when the key thing is always to do something new, different, that's not precisely been done before. And so the point of departure I start with in Zero to One is a somewhat indirect approach by asking a series of contrarian questions. The business question is, what great company is nobody starting? The more intellectual version of this question is, tell me something true that very few people agree with you on. And this is a fantastic interview question. It turns out to be quite a hard question, even when people can read on the internet that you ask of everybody who comes in the door, it still is a hard question. It's one of those unusual questions where if you know it's on the test, it's still hard. And it's hard not just because we sort of think that new things require brilliance or something like that, but because it's socially difficult. If I ask you that question, if you tell me something like the education system is screwed up or our political system doesn't work very well, those are true answers, but they're not actually good answers because all of us already know them to be true. The good answers are ones that are somehow uncomfortable that the person interviewing you does not actually want to hear. And I think we live in this world where courage is in far shorter supply than genius. And so it is sort of this, it is in a sense this problem of political correctness properly understood, is this very deep, very, very broad sort of a problem."

"Courage is far shorter in supply than genius." - Peter Thiel "One of the challenges in writing a book about entrepreneurship or teaching a class on this is that there is sort of no formula. And I think science always starts with a number two. It starts with experiments you can repeat, things you can do over and over again. But there's sort of a sense in which every moment in the history of business, every moment in the history of technology happens only once. The next Mark Zuckerberg will not be starting a social networking company. The next Larry Page will not start a search engine. The next Bill Gates will not be starting an operating system. And so if you are trying to copy these people, you're in some sense not learning from them. And so I think one of the really big challenges in teaching or writing about entrepreneurship is what can you say about being an entrepreneur at all when the key thing is always to do something new, different, that's not precisely been done before. And so the point of departure I start with in Zero to One is a somewhat indirect approach by asking a series of contrarian questions. The business question is, what great company is nobody starting? The more intellectual version of this question is, tell me something true that very few people agree with you on. And this is a fantastic interview question. It turns out to be quite a hard question, even when people can read on the internet that you ask of everybody who comes in the door, it still is a hard question. It's one of those unusual questions where if you know it's on the test, it's still hard. And it's hard not just because we sort of think that new things require brilliance or something like that, but because it's socially difficult. If I ask you that question, if you tell me something like the education system is screwed up or our political system doesn't work very well, those are true answers, but they're not actually good answers because all of us already know them to be true. The good answers are ones that are somehow uncomfortable that the person interviewing you does not actually want to hear. And I think we live in this world where courage is in far shorter supply than genius. And so it is sort of this, it is in a sense this problem of political correctness properly understood, is this very deep, very, very broad sort of a problem."

Founder Mode

12,339 просмотров • 6 месяцев назад

A Kenyan friend sent me this video of them driving from Zimbabwe’s Chirundu border post. This road is a national embarrassment because it connects East Africa with Zimbabwe via Zambia and links people from East Africa with South Africa. It is an international highway, yet it looks like a World War 2 battlefield. My friend’s wife remarked on how high the toll fees are despite the road being in such a disastrous state. A journey that used to take four hours from Chirundu to Harare now takes nine hours. This road is a critical gateway for millions of dollars’ worth of goods that move daily between South Africa and Zimbabwe and onward to East Africa. It is a major trade corridor, essential for regional commerce, supply chains, and economic integration. How can our leaders complain when Donald Trump, of all people, mocks them by saying they are presiding over shitholes. The Zimbabwean government collects toll fees, fuel taxes, road motor tax, and carbon taxes from motorists. It charges international trucks and private vehicles to pass through Zimbabwe, yet this is what motorists get in return, a death trap. The tragedy is that the average Zimbabwean citizen now simply looks, shakes their head, and moves on. Many are more focused on short term entertainment, while the opposition barely exists. In fact, some so called opposition MPs went as far as declaring the transport minister of the year. It would be a tragic joke if it did not involve human lives, destroyed vehicles, lost time, and economic losses. It is painful and sad to watch. How can a nation have zero pride in itself and its public infrastructure, to the point of allowing it to sink from the gutter into the sewer like this?

A Kenyan friend sent me this video of them driving from Zimbabwe’s Chirundu border post. This road is a national embarrassment because it connects East Africa with Zimbabwe via Zambia and links people from East Africa with South Africa. It is an international highway, yet it looks like a World War 2 battlefield. My friend’s wife remarked on how high the toll fees are despite the road being in such a disastrous state. A journey that used to take four hours from Chirundu to Harare now takes nine hours. This road is a critical gateway for millions of dollars’ worth of goods that move daily between South Africa and Zimbabwe and onward to East Africa. It is a major trade corridor, essential for regional commerce, supply chains, and economic integration. How can our leaders complain when Donald Trump, of all people, mocks them by saying they are presiding over shitholes. The Zimbabwean government collects toll fees, fuel taxes, road motor tax, and carbon taxes from motorists. It charges international trucks and private vehicles to pass through Zimbabwe, yet this is what motorists get in return, a death trap. The tragedy is that the average Zimbabwean citizen now simply looks, shakes their head, and moves on. Many are more focused on short term entertainment, while the opposition barely exists. In fact, some so called opposition MPs went as far as declaring the transport minister of the year. It would be a tragic joke if it did not involve human lives, destroyed vehicles, lost time, and economic losses. It is painful and sad to watch. How can a nation have zero pride in itself and its public infrastructure, to the point of allowing it to sink from the gutter into the sewer like this?

Hopewell Chin’ono

48,575 просмотров • 7 месяцев назад

SHOULD GOVERNMENT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE PRIVATE PROPERTY? “People are waking up to the fact that the asset seizure tax is an elimination of private property rights, that fundamentally what you're saying [is] that private property now becomes public property. Because as soon as you give the government the right to collect your post-tax assets through a legislative vote, you are basically saying that you no longer have private property — because at any point in the future the government can vote to say I'm going to take your private property — which is different than an income tax. [An income tax] is when you earn something that you didn't have before, and they take a percentage of your earnings (of your income). The statement now is after you've made your income (it's now your private property) — they can come and take it. And so that is a distinction that has never existed in the United States. And I will make the retort right now to property tax, because people always say to me: ‘what about property tax?’ A property tax is a service fee on a particular, specific asset. The money that is collected provides services for that asset to make it more valuable. So you get roads, infrastructure, policing, fire, schools… All the stuff that comes with property tax makes that property [more valuable]. And you have the option at any point you want to sell that property and stop paying that property tax. You have the option at any point to downgrade your property and get a cheaper property and pay [a lower tax]. And here's the other important point about property tax: it’s uniform. Uniform means that everyone pays the same percentage, the same property tax rate in a county. This asset seizure tax that's being proposed is a demographic tax — meaning that the state or the legislature defines a specific group of individuals (in this case, they're saying anyone with a net worth over a billion dollars) and then they can go and take assets from only that group. That is nonuniform taxation. It means that for the first time we're saying based on the demographics of a person meaning whatever you want to use to define that person (in this case their wealth) — you are going to be treated differently. And that is different than an income tax, because remember when you have graduated income tax rates (and you say high earners get taxed more) — what you're taxing is the earnings, not the individual. You're not looking through to the individual to determine whether or not they're wealthy. All you're doing is looking at the independent earnings amount that's coming in. And so a uniformity clause is supposed to protect people from being demographically discriminated against. And you may roll your hand and be like: ‘Oh, who cares about the billionaires? Eat the rich. That's great.’ But fundamentally, you're giving the government, the legislature, the ability to in the future take any demographic definition they want and go in and take any percentage they want of after-tax property from you. That is why this is so troubling.” david friedberg The All-In Podcast

SHOULD GOVERNMENT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE PRIVATE PROPERTY? “People are waking up to the fact that the asset seizure tax is an elimination of private property rights, that fundamentally what you're saying [is] that private property now becomes public property. Because as soon as you give the government the right to collect your post-tax assets through a legislative vote, you are basically saying that you no longer have private property — because at any point in the future the government can vote to say I'm going to take your private property — which is different than an income tax. [An income tax] is when you earn something that you didn't have before, and they take a percentage of your earnings (of your income). The statement now is after you've made your income (it's now your private property) — they can come and take it. And so that is a distinction that has never existed in the United States. And I will make the retort right now to property tax, because people always say to me: ‘what about property tax?’ A property tax is a service fee on a particular, specific asset. The money that is collected provides services for that asset to make it more valuable. So you get roads, infrastructure, policing, fire, schools… All the stuff that comes with property tax makes that property [more valuable]. And you have the option at any point you want to sell that property and stop paying that property tax. You have the option at any point to downgrade your property and get a cheaper property and pay [a lower tax]. And here's the other important point about property tax: it’s uniform. Uniform means that everyone pays the same percentage, the same property tax rate in a county. This asset seizure tax that's being proposed is a demographic tax — meaning that the state or the legislature defines a specific group of individuals (in this case, they're saying anyone with a net worth over a billion dollars) and then they can go and take assets from only that group. That is nonuniform taxation. It means that for the first time we're saying based on the demographics of a person meaning whatever you want to use to define that person (in this case their wealth) — you are going to be treated differently. And that is different than an income tax, because remember when you have graduated income tax rates (and you say high earners get taxed more) — what you're taxing is the earnings, not the individual. You're not looking through to the individual to determine whether or not they're wealthy. All you're doing is looking at the independent earnings amount that's coming in. And so a uniformity clause is supposed to protect people from being demographically discriminated against. And you may roll your hand and be like: ‘Oh, who cares about the billionaires? Eat the rich. That's great.’ But fundamentally, you're giving the government, the legislature, the ability to in the future take any demographic definition they want and go in and take any percentage they want of after-tax property from you. That is why this is so troubling.” david friedberg The All-In Podcast

Ron Pragides 

258,567 просмотров • 7 месяцев назад

When people say things like ‘Why are people worried about wealth taxes that will never affect them’ it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how the economy works and why even people who aren’t rich, don’t want wealth taxes. Wealthy people like it or not, are amongst the most economically productive people in our country, the top 1% of earners contribute 30% of our income tax receipts. The top 1% are responsible for approx 340,000 jobs in the economy etc. Wealthy people are also best placed to restructure their tax affairs to avoid wealth taxes and the most geographically mobile in our country, leaving for them is as easy as rearranging dates in their calendar. There is a wealth of comparative data from other countries showing wealth taxes are economically damaging, difficult to implement, expensive to administer and never raise the levels of taxes promised. There is no country in world that has ever raised anywhere near the £25 billion cited as the potential amounts that would be raised from an annual wealth tax. If the wealthy leave that impacts our tax base, which inevitably means that everyone else who isn’t wealthy, has to pay more tax. If they leave they will shift their strategic focus and capital to wherever they go, which means that money that would otherwise would have been invested in the UK will go elsewhere. This is precisely why other countries like Italy have tax regimes specially designed to incentivise wealthy people to come, they understand that having wealthy people is great for tax receipts, job creation and economic growth. It’s very disingenuous to assume the reason why people don’t support wealth taxes is because they believe they will one day be in the 1%. They don’t support wealth taxes for the most part because they understand they simply do not work. Zack Polanski is a dangerous man who isn’t even clear in his own mind why we need wealth taxes. His commitment to wealth taxes is ideological rather than evidence based. In the interview he explains that there’s a lot of the wealth in the city of London yet at the same time maintains that wealth taxes aren’t needed for raising tax revenues but are principally for reducing wealth inequality. So you mean to tell me the goal is the force some of the most economically productive people to leave so that we can all be poorer collectively but be more equal? In a country where 53% of households take more out of the state in benefits than they put in, what do you think will happen to the tax burden for working /middle class people if the top 1% leave or restructure their tax affairs in such as way that reduces their exposure to the UK. We are already at a post world war high when it comes to the tax burden and we are in real time seeing the damage it is doing to business and investor confidence in the UK economy. Yet you somehow think that levying even more taxes will have no impact on ordinary people?

When people say things like ‘Why are people worried about wealth taxes that will never affect them’ it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how the economy works and why even people who aren’t rich, don’t want wealth taxes. Wealthy people like it or not, are amongst the most economically productive people in our country, the top 1% of earners contribute 30% of our income tax receipts. The top 1% are responsible for approx 340,000 jobs in the economy etc. Wealthy people are also best placed to restructure their tax affairs to avoid wealth taxes and the most geographically mobile in our country, leaving for them is as easy as rearranging dates in their calendar. There is a wealth of comparative data from other countries showing wealth taxes are economically damaging, difficult to implement, expensive to administer and never raise the levels of taxes promised. There is no country in world that has ever raised anywhere near the £25 billion cited as the potential amounts that would be raised from an annual wealth tax. If the wealthy leave that impacts our tax base, which inevitably means that everyone else who isn’t wealthy, has to pay more tax. If they leave they will shift their strategic focus and capital to wherever they go, which means that money that would otherwise would have been invested in the UK will go elsewhere. This is precisely why other countries like Italy have tax regimes specially designed to incentivise wealthy people to come, they understand that having wealthy people is great for tax receipts, job creation and economic growth. It’s very disingenuous to assume the reason why people don’t support wealth taxes is because they believe they will one day be in the 1%. They don’t support wealth taxes for the most part because they understand they simply do not work. Zack Polanski is a dangerous man who isn’t even clear in his own mind why we need wealth taxes. His commitment to wealth taxes is ideological rather than evidence based. In the interview he explains that there’s a lot of the wealth in the city of London yet at the same time maintains that wealth taxes aren’t needed for raising tax revenues but are principally for reducing wealth inequality. So you mean to tell me the goal is the force some of the most economically productive people to leave so that we can all be poorer collectively but be more equal? In a country where 53% of households take more out of the state in benefits than they put in, what do you think will happen to the tax burden for working /middle class people if the top 1% leave or restructure their tax affairs in such as way that reduces their exposure to the UK. We are already at a post world war high when it comes to the tax burden and we are in real time seeing the damage it is doing to business and investor confidence in the UK economy. Yet you somehow think that levying even more taxes will have no impact on ordinary people?

D 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

86,441 просмотров • 3 месяцев назад

This is raw sewage flowing on Lobengula Street in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second biggest city after Harare. You know, most of the time when people see this, we are quick to blame the council. But councils do not work in isolation from the economy. Zimbabwe’s economy collapsed a long time ago through corruption and incompetence. So even the citizens themselves, many of them are not paying council rates, not because they do not want to, but because the economy collapsed. Ninety-five per cent of the potential job workforce is at home surviving on remittances from relatives outside the country and intermittent informal work. Now, if you juxtapose Bulawayo and Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, Rwanda’s economy is much smaller than Zimbabwe’s. And yet, if you go to Rwanda, you will never see dirt on the streets, let alone sewage flowing like this. Zimbabweans are literally walking on top of sewage. And this is no longer a council issue. This is a central government issue. It is about the failure of Zimbabwe’s economy. It is tragic. Councils cannot even buy sugar and salt for their kitchens without approval from central government. This is what most people do not understand, and where they agree on what needs to be bought, it is the central government that handles the tenders, and they use those tenders to loot public funds within those councils. It is sad to see a country that was once the second most sophisticated economy in Africa in 1980 when we became independent be like this having sewage flowing in streets. Zimbabwe had a more sophisticated economy than almost all the economies in Africa except for South Africa. But today, Kigali, Rwanda, which has a smaller economy than Zimbabwe’s, looks like New York compared to some run-down village in rural Africa. This is sad to watch. This can be fixed. It can be turned around if we have a president who is willing to do what presidents are supposed to do, if we have a government that is willing to do what governments are supposed to do. The tragedy about this is that the money is there in central government to do all these things because they collect most of the taxes, including even road motor tax, toll gate fees, and all manner of other taxes. But we cannot stop sewage from running in the second biggest city. It also runs in the capital city. It is now a structural problem that exists in Zimbabwe. It is a reflection of a government that lacks pride in its own country, a group of people presiding over a nation, yet they lack the pride that is required in any leader or group of leaders running a country. Zero pride.

This is raw sewage flowing on Lobengula Street in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second biggest city after Harare. You know, most of the time when people see this, we are quick to blame the council. But councils do not work in isolation from the economy. Zimbabwe’s economy collapsed a long time ago through corruption and incompetence. So even the citizens themselves, many of them are not paying council rates, not because they do not want to, but because the economy collapsed. Ninety-five per cent of the potential job workforce is at home surviving on remittances from relatives outside the country and intermittent informal work. Now, if you juxtapose Bulawayo and Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, Rwanda’s economy is much smaller than Zimbabwe’s. And yet, if you go to Rwanda, you will never see dirt on the streets, let alone sewage flowing like this. Zimbabweans are literally walking on top of sewage. And this is no longer a council issue. This is a central government issue. It is about the failure of Zimbabwe’s economy. It is tragic. Councils cannot even buy sugar and salt for their kitchens without approval from central government. This is what most people do not understand, and where they agree on what needs to be bought, it is the central government that handles the tenders, and they use those tenders to loot public funds within those councils. It is sad to see a country that was once the second most sophisticated economy in Africa in 1980 when we became independent be like this having sewage flowing in streets. Zimbabwe had a more sophisticated economy than almost all the economies in Africa except for South Africa. But today, Kigali, Rwanda, which has a smaller economy than Zimbabwe’s, looks like New York compared to some run-down village in rural Africa. This is sad to watch. This can be fixed. It can be turned around if we have a president who is willing to do what presidents are supposed to do, if we have a government that is willing to do what governments are supposed to do. The tragedy about this is that the money is there in central government to do all these things because they collect most of the taxes, including even road motor tax, toll gate fees, and all manner of other taxes. But we cannot stop sewage from running in the second biggest city. It also runs in the capital city. It is now a structural problem that exists in Zimbabwe. It is a reflection of a government that lacks pride in its own country, a group of people presiding over a nation, yet they lack the pride that is required in any leader or group of leaders running a country. Zero pride.

Hopewell Chin’ono

17,346 просмотров • 6 месяцев назад

KENYA’S FUEL PRICE DISCREPANCY: A SYMPTOM OF DEEPER ISSUES Tanzania’s fuel price, is 3,000 TZS per litre, which converts to approximately 144 KES per litre. Meanwhile, Kenya’s fuel price is 176 KES per litre. This discrepancy is striking, especially since a significant portion of Tanzania’s fuel is imported through the port of Mombasa in Kenya, meaning it incurs transit costs through Kenyan infrastructure like the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) before reaching Tanzania. Logically, fuel in Kenya should be cheaper - closer to 135 KES per litre, as you suggest - since it doesn’t bear the additional transportation costs to Tanzania. Yet, the price in Kenya is 22% higher than in Tanzania, raising questions about where the extra cost comes from. EPRA’s Role and Duplicity The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority , led by Director General Office of The DG EPRA , is tasked with setting fuel prices in Kenya under the Energy (Petroleum Pricing) Regulations, 2022. EPRA’s pricing formula includes the landed cost of imported petroleum, storage, distribution, taxes, levies, and margins for oil marketers. However, the persistent gap between Kenya’s fuel prices and those of neighboring countries like Tanzania suggests that the system may be manipulated to benefit a select few. Kiptoo has to take a cut to his boss pointing to a broader culture of corruption and favoritism in Kenyan governance, where public officials prioritize personal or political gain over the public good. EPRA publicly claims to regulate fuel prices for the benefit of Kenyans, but the inflated prices is due to hidden agendas. For instance, Kenya imposes high taxes and levies on fuel, including a 16% VAT introduced in 2023, a Road Maintenance Levy, and a Petroleum Development Levy, which significantly drive up costs compared to Tanzania. While these taxes are meant to fund public infrastructure, the lack of transparency in how these funds are used fuels speculation of mismanagement or siphoning by officials. Kiptoo himself has acknowledged that Kenya’s higher taxes and levies make fuel more expensive than in Tanzania, but this explanation feels hollow when the price difference is so stark, and when global oil prices have reportedly dropped to the $60s per barrel (as noted in recent X posts), with the Kenyan shilling strengthening to 129 KES per USD. Wasted Energy on Exploitation, Not Efficiency Instead of focusing on streamlining the fuel supply chain or reducing taxes to ease the burden on citizens, EPRA and its leadership appear more invested in maintaining a system that benefits insiders. The government-to-government (G-to-G) oil import deal, which Kenya has used to procure fuel, has been criticized for lacking transparency and favoring large oil firms over small-scale marketers, who have reportedly shifted to exporting fuel to Tanzania where pricing is more competitive. This exodus of marketers not only deprives Kenya of revenue but also highlights how EPRA’s policies may be driving inefficiencies rather than addressing them. A Culture of Pretended Concern and Hidden Greed The pretense of concern from EPRA mirrors the broader Kenyan political culture of smiling for the cameras while harboring self-interest. Kiptoo and EPRA publicly justify high fuel prices by citing global market trends or exchange rates, but behind closed doors, the inflated prices serve to enrich a network of beneficiaries - including Kiptoo’s “boss,” William Samoei Ruto, PhD . This duplicity is a psychotic undertaking: by keeping fuel prices artificially high, EPRA alienates the public, stifles economic growth, and pushes consumers and businesses to seek alternatives, such as cross-border fueling in Tanzania. The high cost of fuel directly increases the cost of living, transport, and goods, disproportionately affecting ordinary Kenyans while those in power remain insulated from the consequences. The solution is REVOLUTION! Here is my expose on this fraudulent G-to-G scam from 23rd October 2023.

KENYA’S FUEL PRICE DISCREPANCY: A SYMPTOM OF DEEPER ISSUES Tanzania’s fuel price, is 3,000 TZS per litre, which converts to approximately 144 KES per litre. Meanwhile, Kenya’s fuel price is 176 KES per litre. This discrepancy is striking, especially since a significant portion of Tanzania’s fuel is imported through the port of Mombasa in Kenya, meaning it incurs transit costs through Kenyan infrastructure like the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) before reaching Tanzania. Logically, fuel in Kenya should be cheaper - closer to 135 KES per litre, as you suggest - since it doesn’t bear the additional transportation costs to Tanzania. Yet, the price in Kenya is 22% higher than in Tanzania, raising questions about where the extra cost comes from. EPRA’s Role and Duplicity The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority , led by Director General Office of The DG EPRA , is tasked with setting fuel prices in Kenya under the Energy (Petroleum Pricing) Regulations, 2022. EPRA’s pricing formula includes the landed cost of imported petroleum, storage, distribution, taxes, levies, and margins for oil marketers. However, the persistent gap between Kenya’s fuel prices and those of neighboring countries like Tanzania suggests that the system may be manipulated to benefit a select few. Kiptoo has to take a cut to his boss pointing to a broader culture of corruption and favoritism in Kenyan governance, where public officials prioritize personal or political gain over the public good. EPRA publicly claims to regulate fuel prices for the benefit of Kenyans, but the inflated prices is due to hidden agendas. For instance, Kenya imposes high taxes and levies on fuel, including a 16% VAT introduced in 2023, a Road Maintenance Levy, and a Petroleum Development Levy, which significantly drive up costs compared to Tanzania. While these taxes are meant to fund public infrastructure, the lack of transparency in how these funds are used fuels speculation of mismanagement or siphoning by officials. Kiptoo himself has acknowledged that Kenya’s higher taxes and levies make fuel more expensive than in Tanzania, but this explanation feels hollow when the price difference is so stark, and when global oil prices have reportedly dropped to the $60s per barrel (as noted in recent X posts), with the Kenyan shilling strengthening to 129 KES per USD. Wasted Energy on Exploitation, Not Efficiency Instead of focusing on streamlining the fuel supply chain or reducing taxes to ease the burden on citizens, EPRA and its leadership appear more invested in maintaining a system that benefits insiders. The government-to-government (G-to-G) oil import deal, which Kenya has used to procure fuel, has been criticized for lacking transparency and favoring large oil firms over small-scale marketers, who have reportedly shifted to exporting fuel to Tanzania where pricing is more competitive. This exodus of marketers not only deprives Kenya of revenue but also highlights how EPRA’s policies may be driving inefficiencies rather than addressing them. A Culture of Pretended Concern and Hidden Greed The pretense of concern from EPRA mirrors the broader Kenyan political culture of smiling for the cameras while harboring self-interest. Kiptoo and EPRA publicly justify high fuel prices by citing global market trends or exchange rates, but behind closed doors, the inflated prices serve to enrich a network of beneficiaries - including Kiptoo’s “boss,” William Samoei Ruto, PhD . This duplicity is a psychotic undertaking: by keeping fuel prices artificially high, EPRA alienates the public, stifles economic growth, and pushes consumers and businesses to seek alternatives, such as cross-border fueling in Tanzania. The high cost of fuel directly increases the cost of living, transport, and goods, disproportionately affecting ordinary Kenyans while those in power remain insulated from the consequences. The solution is REVOLUTION! Here is my expose on this fraudulent G-to-G scam from 23rd October 2023.

Francis Gaitho

57,558 просмотров • 1 год назад

I’ve made a short film. Look at the things around you: doors, bins, staircases, furniture, railings, doorhandles, windows. Do you like how they look, or not? Modern design has become boring, but it doesn’t have to be this way. The word “beautiful” is overused. We don’t need “beautiful” lamps, bus stops, and water fountains – we just need lamps, bus stops, and water fountains that are interesting, that actually mean something. Or, at the very least, not boring. Because the aesthetics of architecture and urban design aren’t just a bonus; they totally change how we think, feel, and behave. Boring environments make us more stressed and less productive; they erode our sense of community; they make us sadder, less trusting, and lonelier. A boring world is one where we spend even more time online and where our addictions are even harder to battle. The Problem There is global, widespread dissatisfaction with how the world looks. In this film, and the series it will lead to, we want to investigate that feeling and give it a voice. The point isn’t that we should return to the past or get rid of modernism. It’s about learning from the past in order to improve the present, and about giving the public what they very clearly want, which isn’t the eradication of modernism but the co-existence of modernism AND traditionalism. Just look where tourists go, where they take their photos, and that tells you everything you need to know about what most people find interesting or beautiful. And look at where people go on holiday. It’s always to cities filled with old architecture and design, with churches and mosques and palaces, with charming little alleyways and stone staircases and wrought-iron railings. Of the world’s fifty most visited buildings, only four were made in the 20th century, and they’re all museums or memorials. There’s a reason why posts about this go viral online all the time. Regardless of why the change happened, it is clearly the case that we no longer make things how we used to. People are rightly confused by the fact that old lamp posts (to take the example we focus on in the film) are usually so pretty, while modern ones are usually so boring. Some people say this is just an example of survivorship bias… and they’re mostly correct. But that’s the whole point! Saying old buildings are usually prettier than modern buildings is not to say that architecture used to be better, or that the past was better. It is simply to say that certain kinds of buildings, because they have been preserved, are good examples of what people like most. In which case... shouldn't we try to design at least some buildings in a way that we know people like? A Unifying Cause Everybody, from all sides of the political spectrum and all backgrounds, stands to benefit from a world that is designed more thoughtfully and imaginatively. The world could be such a colourful, meaningful, and thrilling place! So this isn’t about left versus right or conservatism versus progressivism; it’s about making our world a more interesting and meaningful place to live in. This should be a unifying cause, because everybody loses out when our homes and cities are badly designed. I want this film to unite people who think they’re on opposite sides, and to create a consensus that we need to change our approach to how we design our buildings and the objects – benches, bus stops, bins, lamp posts, aircon units – that fill our cities. The Importance of Details We are incredibly rich and have a sprawling choice of shows to stream, phones to buy, or shoes to wear… but everything feels more and more generic all the time. If you want to understand a society, don’t listen to what it says about itself – look at what it creates. You can learn everything about the Victorians – the good and the bad – just by looking at their lamp posts. And what do the ordinary details of the modern world say about us? That we are technologically advanced, very efficient… and care more about making money, about making things as quickly and cheaply as possible, than making our world an enjoyable place to actually live in. It’s important to learn about why and how things have changed, but that’s for another time. The first step is establishing that the public aren’t happy with modern architecture and design, and that something needs to be done. But what we need isn’t a total revival of so-called ‘traditionalism’; the truth is that traditionalism and modernism can (and should) co-exist. The trouble right now is that we only have one, and that people are tired of it. The Power of Noticing But this film (and the series it will, all being well, lead to) is about more than the specific argument it presents. Above all it’s about a way of seeing the world around us, a way of noticing and thinking. “How you do anything is how you do everything.” That is probably true, and it also applies to whole societies, not just individuals; a single doorbell implies everything else about the whole socio-economic and political system that gave rise to its creation. And, beyond being merely “useful”, the ability to notice details makes the world a richer place to live in, and life a richer thing to lead. This is what the film is about, more than anything: the power and joy of noticing. A Bigger Project This short film is just the beginning. We want to make a full series about the history of art and architecture, both for their own sake and also to see what we can learn about life in the twenty-first century and how to improve it. To keep updated you can join our email list over at our website, linked in the reply below. Final Words You can watch the film here on X, or over on YouTube, also linked in the reply below. So… this is where the dream begins, the dream of a new series and the dream of a more charming, more interesting, more meaningful modern world. Spread the word.

I’ve made a short film. Look at the things around you: doors, bins, staircases, furniture, railings, doorhandles, windows. Do you like how they look, or not? Modern design has become boring, but it doesn’t have to be this way. The word “beautiful” is overused. We don’t need “beautiful” lamps, bus stops, and water fountains – we just need lamps, bus stops, and water fountains that are interesting, that actually mean something. Or, at the very least, not boring. Because the aesthetics of architecture and urban design aren’t just a bonus; they totally change how we think, feel, and behave. Boring environments make us more stressed and less productive; they erode our sense of community; they make us sadder, less trusting, and lonelier. A boring world is one where we spend even more time online and where our addictions are even harder to battle. The Problem There is global, widespread dissatisfaction with how the world looks. In this film, and the series it will lead to, we want to investigate that feeling and give it a voice. The point isn’t that we should return to the past or get rid of modernism. It’s about learning from the past in order to improve the present, and about giving the public what they very clearly want, which isn’t the eradication of modernism but the co-existence of modernism AND traditionalism. Just look where tourists go, where they take their photos, and that tells you everything you need to know about what most people find interesting or beautiful. And look at where people go on holiday. It’s always to cities filled with old architecture and design, with churches and mosques and palaces, with charming little alleyways and stone staircases and wrought-iron railings. Of the world’s fifty most visited buildings, only four were made in the 20th century, and they’re all museums or memorials. There’s a reason why posts about this go viral online all the time. Regardless of why the change happened, it is clearly the case that we no longer make things how we used to. People are rightly confused by the fact that old lamp posts (to take the example we focus on in the film) are usually so pretty, while modern ones are usually so boring. Some people say this is just an example of survivorship bias… and they’re mostly correct. But that’s the whole point! Saying old buildings are usually prettier than modern buildings is not to say that architecture used to be better, or that the past was better. It is simply to say that certain kinds of buildings, because they have been preserved, are good examples of what people like most. In which case... shouldn't we try to design at least some buildings in a way that we know people like? A Unifying Cause Everybody, from all sides of the political spectrum and all backgrounds, stands to benefit from a world that is designed more thoughtfully and imaginatively. The world could be such a colourful, meaningful, and thrilling place! So this isn’t about left versus right or conservatism versus progressivism; it’s about making our world a more interesting and meaningful place to live in. This should be a unifying cause, because everybody loses out when our homes and cities are badly designed. I want this film to unite people who think they’re on opposite sides, and to create a consensus that we need to change our approach to how we design our buildings and the objects – benches, bus stops, bins, lamp posts, aircon units – that fill our cities. The Importance of Details We are incredibly rich and have a sprawling choice of shows to stream, phones to buy, or shoes to wear… but everything feels more and more generic all the time. If you want to understand a society, don’t listen to what it says about itself – look at what it creates. You can learn everything about the Victorians – the good and the bad – just by looking at their lamp posts. And what do the ordinary details of the modern world say about us? That we are technologically advanced, very efficient… and care more about making money, about making things as quickly and cheaply as possible, than making our world an enjoyable place to actually live in. It’s important to learn about why and how things have changed, but that’s for another time. The first step is establishing that the public aren’t happy with modern architecture and design, and that something needs to be done. But what we need isn’t a total revival of so-called ‘traditionalism’; the truth is that traditionalism and modernism can (and should) co-exist. The trouble right now is that we only have one, and that people are tired of it. The Power of Noticing But this film (and the series it will, all being well, lead to) is about more than the specific argument it presents. Above all it’s about a way of seeing the world around us, a way of noticing and thinking. “How you do anything is how you do everything.” That is probably true, and it also applies to whole societies, not just individuals; a single doorbell implies everything else about the whole socio-economic and political system that gave rise to its creation. And, beyond being merely “useful”, the ability to notice details makes the world a richer place to live in, and life a richer thing to lead. This is what the film is about, more than anything: the power and joy of noticing. A Bigger Project This short film is just the beginning. We want to make a full series about the history of art and architecture, both for their own sake and also to see what we can learn about life in the twenty-first century and how to improve it. To keep updated you can join our email list over at our website, linked in the reply below. Final Words You can watch the film here on X, or over on YouTube, also linked in the reply below. So… this is where the dream begins, the dream of a new series and the dream of a more charming, more interesting, more meaningful modern world. Spread the word.

The Cultural Tutor

2,738,312 просмотров • 10 месяцев назад

Some personal news: I am running to be mayor of West Vancouver in the Oct. 17 municipal election. Kirk LaPointe Announces Candidacy for Mayor of West Vancouver Says community needs stronger financial discipline, better consultation, and a clearer plan for the future WEST VANCOUVER, BC — Veteran journalist, business executive and community board member Kirk LaPointe is seeking the office of Mayor of West Vancouver, launching a campaign focused on restoring public trust, bringing greater discipline to taxes and spending, strengthening village centres and local business, planning responsibly for housing and infrastructure, and giving West Vancouver a stronger voice at Metro Vancouver. Learn more, and how to support, at “We need to manage public money more carefully, support a healthier local economy, and make sure West Vancouver speaks with a stronger voice regionally,” LaPointe said. “Above all, we need to rebuild confidence that local government is working with the community, not simply presenting decisions to it. People want to know their voice matters before decisions are made, not after.” LaPointe said he is entering the race because local government has become too reactive, too costly, and too disconnected from the people it serves. He said West Vancouver needs leadership that listens earlier, explains decisions more clearly, and works with the community on a practical long-term plan. LaPointe has spent decades in journalism, business, and public life, leading major national and local news organizations, serving in senior business and communications roles, acting as an ombudsman, teaching at the university level, and serving on community not-for-profit boards. He said those experiences have been grounded in public accountability, sound judgment, and helping people understand complex issues and institutions. “My career has been about asking tough questions, listening closely, and ethically holding institutions to account,” LaPointe said. “I want to bring that same seriousness, openness, and respect for the public to the mayor’s office.” LaPointe said West Vancouver needs a more disciplined approach on taxes, spending, infrastructure planning, and service delivery with greater burdens looming and many residents feeling they are being asked to pay more without enough clarity, consultation, or long-term vision. He said the community also needs a practical economic plan to strengthen village centres, support local business, and broaden the tax base over time. He said West Vancouver must plan thoughtfully for changing housing needs, including gentle densification that respects neighbourhood character and protects livability. He said the community must be more welcoming to seniors, families, workers, and younger generations who want to build their lives here. LaPointe said recent controversies, including the paid parking debate, have reinforced a growing public concern that consultation too often comes late in the process, after key decisions have effectively been shaped. He said decisions affecting daily life, neighbourhood character, and local business must be grounded in meaningful public engagement and clear public justification. He also said West Vancouver needs stronger accountability at Metro Vancouver, where major decisions on spending, infrastructure, and regional priorities have significant local consequences. He would not accept additional compensation from the Metro Vancouver board. “This is a community with deep strengths, high expectations, and a strong sense of place,” LaPointe said. “It deserves leadership that is prudent, consultative, and prepared to work with residents on a real plan for the years ahead.” Further details of LaPointe’s campaign for the October 17 election will be announced in the coming weeks.

Some personal news: I am running to be mayor of West Vancouver in the Oct. 17 municipal election. Kirk LaPointe Announces Candidacy for Mayor of West Vancouver Says community needs stronger financial discipline, better consultation, and a clearer plan for the future WEST VANCOUVER, BC — Veteran journalist, business executive and community board member Kirk LaPointe is seeking the office of Mayor of West Vancouver, launching a campaign focused on restoring public trust, bringing greater discipline to taxes and spending, strengthening village centres and local business, planning responsibly for housing and infrastructure, and giving West Vancouver a stronger voice at Metro Vancouver. Learn more, and how to support, at “We need to manage public money more carefully, support a healthier local economy, and make sure West Vancouver speaks with a stronger voice regionally,” LaPointe said. “Above all, we need to rebuild confidence that local government is working with the community, not simply presenting decisions to it. People want to know their voice matters before decisions are made, not after.” LaPointe said he is entering the race because local government has become too reactive, too costly, and too disconnected from the people it serves. He said West Vancouver needs leadership that listens earlier, explains decisions more clearly, and works with the community on a practical long-term plan. LaPointe has spent decades in journalism, business, and public life, leading major national and local news organizations, serving in senior business and communications roles, acting as an ombudsman, teaching at the university level, and serving on community not-for-profit boards. He said those experiences have been grounded in public accountability, sound judgment, and helping people understand complex issues and institutions. “My career has been about asking tough questions, listening closely, and ethically holding institutions to account,” LaPointe said. “I want to bring that same seriousness, openness, and respect for the public to the mayor’s office.” LaPointe said West Vancouver needs a more disciplined approach on taxes, spending, infrastructure planning, and service delivery with greater burdens looming and many residents feeling they are being asked to pay more without enough clarity, consultation, or long-term vision. He said the community also needs a practical economic plan to strengthen village centres, support local business, and broaden the tax base over time. He said West Vancouver must plan thoughtfully for changing housing needs, including gentle densification that respects neighbourhood character and protects livability. He said the community must be more welcoming to seniors, families, workers, and younger generations who want to build their lives here. LaPointe said recent controversies, including the paid parking debate, have reinforced a growing public concern that consultation too often comes late in the process, after key decisions have effectively been shaped. He said decisions affecting daily life, neighbourhood character, and local business must be grounded in meaningful public engagement and clear public justification. He also said West Vancouver needs stronger accountability at Metro Vancouver, where major decisions on spending, infrastructure, and regional priorities have significant local consequences. He would not accept additional compensation from the Metro Vancouver board. “This is a community with deep strengths, high expectations, and a strong sense of place,” LaPointe said. “It deserves leadership that is prudent, consultative, and prepared to work with residents on a real plan for the years ahead.” Further details of LaPointe’s campaign for the October 17 election will be announced in the coming weeks.

Kirk LaPointe

21,820 просмотров • 4 месяцев назад

Seth Godin gave a masterclass on how to build an unforgettable brand in the age of AI: 1. Marketing is not about spend. It is about creating the conditions for other people to eagerly spread your idea. 2. Authenticity is overrated. What customers actually want is consistency. Show up the same way every single time and that is worth more than any Super Bowl ad. 3. Everything your company does is a marketing decision. How you answer the phone. What you charge. How you design things. Marketing is not a department. It is everything. 4. Trust is simple. Make a promise. Keep it. Especially when it is hard. 5. Successful brands are built with your customers talking about you. Not you talking about you. 6. A brand is not a logo. A brand is a promise. Nike has a brand. Hyatt has a logo. One of them you know exactly what to expect. The other you do not. 7. You are measuring the wrong things. Follower counts. Stock price. Open rates. False proxies will take your business in the wrong direction faster than anything else. 8. Social media followers mean nothing. Godin has 400,000 Instagram followers and says if he posts about a new book maybe 12 people buy it. The number is a distraction. 9. Stop trying to be famous. The goal is not to get more famous. The goal is to get less famous and more trusted. 10. Average marketing reaches average people. Average people will not buy your product. You need the people who will talk about you, challenge you, and eagerly pay more for better. 11. When you pick your customers you pick your future. Stop trying to reach everyone. Start trying to deeply serve someone specific. 12. Better beats louder every time. One guy running a wine email list with 130,000 subscribers does $30 million a year in revenue. No ads. No social media hustle. Just consistently better. 13. The real opportunity with AI is not making things cheaper. It is making things better. The businesses that use AI to deepen relationships will win. The ones using it to cut costs will race to the bottom. 14. Your job is not to do your job. Your job is to solve problems for other people and make things better by making better things. Everything else is just noise. 15. When AI becomes the buyer it will always choose the cheapest option. If your entire business strategy is being the cheapest, AI will destroy you. The only protection is being worth it in ways that cannot be easily measured. 16. The next level of marketing is permission at a depth nobody has achieved before. The brand that knows your tools, your projects, your needs, and shows up to help without being asked will be impossible to replace. 17. Most businesses will use AI to spam more people faster. The businesses that win will use AI to serve fewer people better. That gap is the biggest opportunity in marketing right now. 18. You have a squadron of summer interns available for twenty dollars a month. They are not that good but they are very eager. The businesses learning to be good bosses of AI right now will have an enormous advantage over everyone waiting to figure it out later. 19. The question every business should be asking is not how do I get more attention. It is how do I become the kind of business that people would genuinely miss if it disappeared tomorrow. That answer is your entire marketing strategy.

Yasmine Khosrowshahi

127,595 просмотров • 2 месяцев назад

Buttigieg: It is not too much to ask that, in this country and in this state, one job ought to be enough, which means wages and benefits that make that possible. It’s not too much to ask that you ought to be able to afford to raise a family in this country—to put your kid in child care if you want, or stay home and take care of them yourselves if you want, or do some combination of that if you want—and still have it add up at the end of the month. It is not too much to ask that the wealthiest country in the world have the best health care in the world and that it have the best-funded public schools in the world. And it is not too much to ask that the largest corporations and wealthiest people in this country pay at least as much of their income and wealth in taxes as a schoolteacher, a bus driver, or a firefighter. It is not too much to ask for a different kind of politics, where you look at your leaders in action and actually feel your blood pressure come down a little bit instead of going through the roof. That is a reasonable thing to expect of our leaders. It is not too much to ask. We can do this. Most of us already want this. So the obvious question is: Why hasn’t it happened? And that’s where we’ve got to talk about the system that we’re living with, which, by the way, as a politician, they kind of tell you not to do. Consultants say, “Look, no one’s going to get too fired up about the details of our democratic system when they’re just trying to keep their heads above water in this economy,” which I get, and to some extent I agree. But the reason that so many things are wrong with our economic picture is that so many things are wrong with our political system. And we’ve gotten so used to it, we can forget that there was a time when our political system was the pride of this nation. Wars have been fought for our system, starting with the first one—the one that launched 250 years ago with the Declaration of Independence, the one that gave this nation its being. The Founders risked their lives for a better political system. So don’t tell me it can’t stir people’s hearts. Don’t tell me that it’s not worth fighting for. Especially because until we do something to change our political system, we will continue to suffer from an economic system that lets us down: monopolies squeezing families and farmers on both ends; consumers and workers caught up in a system that can’t serve them; small businesses swamped by the big guys. Right now, what’s at stake is nothing less than the American dream. It is endangered.

Buttigieg: It is not too much to ask that, in this country and in this state, one job ought to be enough, which means wages and benefits that make that possible. It’s not too much to ask that you ought to be able to afford to raise a family in this country—to put your kid in child care if you want, or stay home and take care of them yourselves if you want, or do some combination of that if you want—and still have it add up at the end of the month. It is not too much to ask that the wealthiest country in the world have the best health care in the world and that it have the best-funded public schools in the world. And it is not too much to ask that the largest corporations and wealthiest people in this country pay at least as much of their income and wealth in taxes as a schoolteacher, a bus driver, or a firefighter. It is not too much to ask for a different kind of politics, where you look at your leaders in action and actually feel your blood pressure come down a little bit instead of going through the roof. That is a reasonable thing to expect of our leaders. It is not too much to ask. We can do this. Most of us already want this. So the obvious question is: Why hasn’t it happened? And that’s where we’ve got to talk about the system that we’re living with, which, by the way, as a politician, they kind of tell you not to do. Consultants say, “Look, no one’s going to get too fired up about the details of our democratic system when they’re just trying to keep their heads above water in this economy,” which I get, and to some extent I agree. But the reason that so many things are wrong with our economic picture is that so many things are wrong with our political system. And we’ve gotten so used to it, we can forget that there was a time when our political system was the pride of this nation. Wars have been fought for our system, starting with the first one—the one that launched 250 years ago with the Declaration of Independence, the one that gave this nation its being. The Founders risked their lives for a better political system. So don’t tell me it can’t stir people’s hearts. Don’t tell me that it’s not worth fighting for. Especially because until we do something to change our political system, we will continue to suffer from an economic system that lets us down: monopolies squeezing families and farmers on both ends; consumers and workers caught up in a system that can’t serve them; small businesses swamped by the big guys. Right now, what’s at stake is nothing less than the American dream. It is endangered.

Acyn

42,103 просмотров • 1 месяц назад