Hello brothers and sisters from Bungoma and in diaspora:
This month we are taking the initiative of making you aware of one of youthful and promising coming leader in the person of Moses Mr. Marango.
I was born Waswa Marango on September 7th 1976 in Kimwanga Village, Bungoma District and received my given name - Moses in 1979. My father was a CNC machinist with Kenya Railways based in Nairobi and my mom a hardworking and committed housewife with a talent of tilling the land as a small scale farmer in Bungoma. She sold eggs, sukuma wiki and sweet potatoes on many occasions to supplement my dad’s income. I find lots of wisdom, comfort and love in my wife Charity, the love of my life.
• In 1982, even at that early age, my desire to go to school was thwarted when my teachers sent me back home on the grounds of being too young for school. I however managed to enroll in the nursery school the following year and swiftly went through my Primary education until 1990 when I sat for my KCPE. I then proceeded to Friends School Kamusinga in 1991, in time to sit for my KCSE in 1994.
• While in high school, I was elected the KIPASA (Kimwanga Parents & Students Association) Chairman and the YCS (Young Christian Students) Organizing Secretary in 1993 and remained an active member of the debating club throughout that high school time.
• I also participated actively in science congress a couple of times reaching the provincial level held at Kaimosi Teachers’ College with mathematics and technical drawing projects. I was initiated into manhood according to the coveted Bukusu Culture in 1992 to join the BASAWA group.
• From 1995-1996, I completed my diploma course in Computer Hardware Engineering at the Kenya Polytechinc before proceeding to JKUAT (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology), where I was from 1996 to 1999 for my Bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics and Physics.
• During that time, I realized that students from poor backgrounds like mine never received any much expected just and fair treatment as regarded their higher education loans. As a result, many of them were being discontinued on the grounds of non-payment of fees. Someone had to fight for them.
• So as to respond to this need for a public negotiator and defender, I ran for the office of the Academic Secretary of JKUSO-the JKUAT’s student union in 1997 and won with a landslide. As a result of my position, I became the Faculty of Science Board and University Senate member concurrently.
• In the same year, I also served in the 8-4-4 review commission as a co-opted member, the JKUAT Chapter. With my active representation, the student discontinuation program was stopped and I ensured, no student would ever be barred from their studies at the university on the grounds of defaulting on their fees payment.
• In 1998 through 1999, I served as the JKUSO Chairman, a position by whose virtue I also concurrently served as the University Senate and Council Member. During this time, I was elected as the Student Representative on rotor to the Higher Education Loan’s Board (HELB)– a position I effectively utilized to front for the loan coverage to be extended to the polytechnic and private university students from poor financial backgrounds. Am glad the loans’ board-HELB has consistently maintained this adjustment till now.
• In 1999, I attended a UN/World Bank sponsored conference in Durban-South Africa dabbed “Effecting And Managing Change In Third World Countries- The African Youth’s Perception”. After this conference, in the company of other student leaders from sister universities and polytechnics, we formally launched a national students body -KENASU; Kenya National Students’ Union that would specifically address common needs across the board for all post secondary students in Kenya with a purpose of helping develop a post college survival strategy despite rising unemployment. I also helped co-found the National Youth Agenda (NYA) to address the social inequalities in the system working against the youth.
• Soon before graduating in 2000, I attended an intensive training coded as “Empowering the Kenyan Youth through Self Employment” administered by KMAP (Kenya Management Assistance Program).
• Thereafter graduation, I taught Physics in the Kenya Polytechnic’s Applied Sciences department on part time basis and became head of Computer Department, Nairobi Aviation College before joining Intek MicroSystems and Kenya Pipeline as a training manager and an IT administrator respectively. In 2002, I taught at Strathmore College ( Now Strathmore University) before proceeding to the Keller Graduate School of Management, Devry University-USA from 2003-2004 where I studied Project Management & Governance.
• While still in the US, I also pursued a PGD in Electronics & Process Engineering. With these skills, I worked for the giant Computer company- Hewlett Packard (HP) before joining Alpha Circuits’ Test Engineering department.
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• In 2008, I joined Houstech Inc, as their Engineering Services Manager before resigning in 2009 to found my own Electronics Manufacturing facility- SMT Pick & Place Systems.
• Meanwhile, having noticed how many Kenyans could get stranded in my city after newly landing in the US, I co-founded an organization- Kenyan Society in Houston- KENSHO whose mission was to advise, guide and inform old and new Kenyan immigrants in the US of the prevailing laws and benefits directly affecting them. This helped lower our casualties in the wrong hands of the economy and the law.
• Back at home, even after the passenger train service was withdrawn after an intensive lobbying by the Western Kenya Bus Operator’s Union, I have continued to champion for the resumption of this service that was once a conduit for our people’s economic stability.
• This targeted stopping the insensitive bus operators’ transport monopoly in Western Kenya and helping the average Kenyans from that side of the country to stabilize economically.
Strategic Policy Management
• I have worked and advised the Ministries of Trade and Industry to seek for the extension of the current conferred COMESA protection for our local industries including Mumias, Nzoia sugar millers in the region ( since Kenya controls 48% of the trade exchange in the COMESA region) to help our industries create jobs not only for Bumula residents but also Kenya as a whole through diversifying their operations.
• This diversification has so far included co-power generation, a sector in which Mumias Sugar is leading the pack by generating 26 MW per month and selling it back to KPLC. This should lower their production cost and help create more job opportunities for our youth as the sector stabilizes.
• Commercial production of ethanol and hay is also being implemented on our advice. This has also helped generate jobs for the local people.
• I have also crafted a proposal to the Ministry of Education and made the same recommendation to the CDF (Constituency Development Fund) Management committee, to consider a personal investment voucher for all post university and polytechnic graduates, to benefit from this fund by requiring those who may be willing and with the help of the Ministry of vocational training, to come up with investment and income generating project proposals to be funded in groups of 10 at a cost of Kshs. 10,000 per month per student for the first 12 months after graduation. This money shall only be used as investment capital paid to the graduates with a supervisory requirement by the govt.
• We just launched the Bumula Youths for Equal Opportunities (BY-4) organization. Through this organization, we have managed to sponsor just about 100 school going kids who couldn’t afford fees in the past. And as more friends join the group, we have also been able to initiate the Project-Water for All( Project-Wall) around the constituency to make water available to every resident as desired
•More projects are still in the pipeline and will be unveiled when ready.
•We have also initiated the BUmula Youths Talent Search Program that helps the local people identify their talents like soccer, singing, acting and expose them to potential sponsors.
This month, we have some new plans for this blog page or web site of ours that will be including updating contents by the administrators and those sent by you or some of you. But to accomplish this, we hereby call for your active participation in all forms and we promise here full cooperation to working with you.
Meanwhile, our team has been has been working off and on field to try to secure copies of the previous years’ CDF budget and expenditure for the Kanduyi, Bumula, Sirisia constituencies and any time from now, the unedited copies of such shall be on the display on the site for your comments, analysis and more so, information.
Keep browsing and checking the site.
By Mary Nekesa, via Facebook:
I agree with Oscar that we cannot mourn Wamalwa for ever. It is 6 years since Wamalwa passed on and while I appreciate the good work that he did for us we must remember that Wamalwa did not create himself. He was created by people of his generation who recognized his talents and warmth for his people. You cannot tell me that we do don't have such people today among us today. It is our love for short cuts.. money and euphoria that has led us into the troubles that we have. Everyone thinks that he knows and thinks that he or she has so much power only to be left empty handed after the elections. Look at the leadership that we have in Bungoma today. Surely we can do better and in 2012 we must genuinely seek out and elect people who have a genuine desire to change the lives of our people and fight for our community at the national level. Above all we must humble ourselves and seek divine intervention. We are not expecting a God but at least someone reasonable, committed and accessible.
With the much education he had, and now out as a former MP, Mr. Wamunyinyi and his advisors, quantity surveyors, and the esteemed members of the CDF committee, with a priest in it too, thought it right to claim and award over Kshs.600,000 for the renovation (not building mark you) of two calssrooms in the village of Matumbufu!
Namai Paul here asks, will we able to have a system that makes leaders accountable, answerable and reprimandable in cases of funds misappropriations?
(for detailed account, go to the page of CDF from the left, 2nd from the top)
PLAYING KENYANS!
As we watch our politicians reveal their true identity and desires that supercedes those of the Kenyans who voted them to power, all we witness and realise is their unsatiable lust and greed for money, power and looting from the public!
We are almost convinced that, as Jesus said, we have simply put old wine in a new wineskin! The same people who selfishly passed bills that raised and raised the MPs allowances are the same ones who now claim to be fighting for mwananchi...but in a new way!
The operating 11th commandment in the parliament of Kenya is that
" thou shalt not pass any bill that favours not the MPs within a day, but for a proverbial 100 days!" That is why, the Bomas Draft proposal of "call-back of non-performing MPs by their constituents" had a landslide fall in Parliament. Even Raila did nothing to save it! But remember how many hours it took the MPs to pass the motion that raised their allowances?
All that matters to the MPs is to be there for two terms, loot, and get aways with the self-awarded huge pension! Our former MP, Athanas Wamunyinyi, got his share of the cake; but what did he do for his Kanduyi people? His aademic handicapsy might be an excuse for his under-performance, but what excuse does he get for looting our CDF and the now rapid insecurity and hooliganism?
With the much education he had, Mr. Wamunyinyi and his advisors, quantity surveyors, and the esteemed members of the CDF committee, with a priest in it too, thought it right to claim and award over Kshs.600,000 for the renovation (not building mark you) of two calssrooms in the village of Matumbufu!
Mr. Khangati, sorry, honorable Khangati, made alot of promises to the people of our small yet beautiful growing district and constituency. But our question is, will he deliver within five years or not? At the moment, he has not been back even for a thanksgiving rally! Was the CDF mismanaged in Kanduyi?
Imagine out of the 20 million shillings, what visible good was done and are you a witness to it? What beats logic and common reason was how the money was alotted and managed. Whose duty is it to make schools and renovate them, especially private schools?
Imagine a school so remote like Matumbufu costed the CDF over Kshs. 600,000 (and still ore to come) just to renovate, not to construct mark you, two classrooms!
He was created by people of his generation who recognized his talents and warmth for his people. You cannot tell me that we do don't have such people today among us today. It is our love for short cuts.. money and euphoria that has led us into the troubles that we have. Everyone thinks that he knows and thinks that he or she has so much power only to be left empty handed after the elections. Look at the leadership that we have in Bungoma today. Surely we can do better and in 2012 we must genuinely seek out and elect people who have a genuine desire to change the lives of our people and fight for our community at the national level. Above all we must humble ourselves and seek divine intervention. We are not expecting a God but at least someone reasonable, committed and accessible.
