Skip to main content

Why Alcohol Money Should Remain Alcohol Money😂- A Mjengo Tale

Wamaku has been cursing and lamenting all morning because the cement he bought to start building his Kiberege home was stolen. He is even considering visiting a mganga to help him punish whoever stole from him. It was more than 10 bags of cement so it couldn't have been just one guy. He suspects one of his subordinates who he says started building his mother's house last month despite not having any overtime. The worst part is, he used alcohol money to buy these building supplies- he should have just gotten drunk and forgotten the whole thing. This self-discipline doesn't seem to be working out fine for him but he refuses to drop all his resolutions before March this year.

To take you back, the foreman hired a new steel fixer to help with the Ruaha bridge section. He knows he is very good with that specialty. He worked with him before in the Mwanza project. The steel fixer's name is Wasiwasi. I am not sure if that's his birth-given name or just a mjengo name but I know I will find out soon enough.

To thank Wamaku for connecting him to this job, at the end of his first month at work, Wasiwasi invited him for an evening of serengeti and castor lite. Or Konyagi. His choice. One of the things on the foreman's new year resolutions' list however, was to cut back on spending money on alcohol. But this is not his money so no harm, no foul. Or so he thought. Freeloaders from Wamaku's section were ready for this evening. Wasiwasi is aware of how some of these mjengo-men act when it comes to free stuff so he was psychologically prepared to pay for more than just the foreman's alcohol. Lest he becomes the talk of the maskani.

So on the anticipated evening after sections close, the foreman instructs his driver to drop him at the Burudika pub and go pick up a few othe people including a chainman, two labourers and of course Wasiwasi. Just before the drinking spree begins, Wamaku calls Wasiwasi to the side to engage in a 'consult.' Turns out, he had requested that instead of buying him alcohol, he would just give him cash so he can get onto resolution number 7- building his Kiberege home. So while the rest of the people were enjoying their beers, the foreman was making calls to the hardware reserving cement and requesting for quotations for other buiding supplies. 

While some people were inspired by this move, others were mocking him saying, alcohol money should never be repurposed. Turns out they were right😂。Or not, who knows? I hope your month of love is going as good as ours here at the mjengo 🌹

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Read our popular posts here

Wamaku on the Beach: The foreman's Vacation

You know those construction workers who are ever obsessed with their work and making them use their leave days is like punishing them? Yeah, Wamaku is one of them. He says he doesn't need the days and that if he needs to see his family, mamaa  and the kids will always come over. The project manager however decided that this year people will be working shifts during the Christmas holiday unike last year when every section worked in full. So Wamaku had to leave someone else in charge for the first two weeks of December and work the last two. It was either one or the other and he had to pick the days with the most overtime. Brilliant, right? Anyway, from the pictures on his statuses, he has been enjoying Mbezi beach. Although he takes the kind of photos that only 50+ year olds take. Or -4 year olds. Wait, now that I think about it, my 3 year old cousin takes better pictures. In his pictures, it looks he is trying to look like he is not taking the pictures while taking the pictures so
Post a Comment
Read more

The foreman's predicament; A story of attempted infidelity and getting caught

Wamaku came to work with strange spots on his face and part of his neck. He was also in a  very bad mood. Anyone who knows him knows that if someone "steps in his way" on such a day, they will go home. Literally. His form of punishment for a long time has been sending people on unpaid leave. Anyone who has worked in construction for a while knows that is better than being fired. He is a thoughtful man, some say.  Source: Nation media Word on the street is that Wamaku's wife found messages of him and the new earthworks intern, Julia. He came home drunk and got out his phone to inform her that he had arrived. They had been together that evening and as they parted ways, she had told him to text him when he gets home safe- what he was doing.  His wife had heard someone stumble over the kid's toys in the verandah and she had woken up to go see. It was her lovely husband coming back from a drinking spree. He was a little tipsy and he was trying to text someone. She walked t
Post a Comment
Read more

Lessons from the Mjengo to embrace in 2024: Happy New Year

  Working in the construction field AKA mjengo is like attending the world's most practical school of life lessons. First and foremost, it teaches the undeniable power of teamwork. Trying to build something substantial without a crew is like attempting to juggle bricks—it might work for a second, but eventually, you'll need a hand. As we dive into 2024, we must keep embracing the spirit of teamwork and togetherness. Construction sites are like giant, real-life LEGO projects where everyone has a specific role, from the architect who dreams up the design to the kagirl who cleans offices and fetches tea but somehow becomes the motivational cornerstone of the team. You quickly learn that collaboration isn't just a buzzword; it's the glue holding those bricks (and your sanity) together. Moreover, construction work is a masterclass in adaptability and creative problem-solving. You start your day with a blueprint, a plan etched in stone (well, paper), but the moment you step
2 comments
Read more