By MN Reporter

A 30-year-old aspirant for the Kuria East parliamentary seat in the 2022 general election, Makena Mwita, has promised to effectively deal with the serious issues affecting the local community that he believes previous administrations have not adequately addressed.

The candidate who is an accountant and economist said that he has all it takes to not only represent the people of Kuria East in the national assembly but also address issues affecting the local community while at the same time transforming their lives.

“I was born and raised in a small village called Chinato within Kuria East Constituency, Migori County and studied at Chinato Primary School, Kebaroti Secondary School and Ikerege Secondary School” said Mwita.

indicating that his life in the village enabled him to experience the challenges that people within Kuria East Constituency have to deal with on a daily basis.

Mr Mwita is the youngest aspirant to announce his candidature for the Kuria East seat and is urging locals to bank on his desire to bring change through the promotion of accountability and integrity in leadership as important factors in his manifesto.

“Growing up as a needy child posed a great challenge in my education progress” Said Mwita.

“In all my 4 years in high school I applied for bursaries with no luck as I didn’t have any connections. To date, corruption and nepotism at the constituency level continue to hinder bright and needy children from accessing Bursaries.” Dealing with corruption and nepotism Asked how he is looking to tackle corruption and nepotism in the allocation of resources and opportunities at the constituency level, Mr Mwita highlights his experience abroad and how he will customize it for the local context in Kuria East.

“I have been privileged to travel around the world both to developing and developed countries in Africa,Asia ,Middle East and currently Australia where I live and work. This has enabled me to interact with people from different nationalities and admired how most countries are run. I am therefore inspired to use this experience to bring change in our community and country” he said.

As Kenyans continue to embrace issue-based politics, the youthful aspirant demonstrated his understanding of issue-based politics by outlining the three priority areas that will inform his campaign.

“I stand for integrity and accountability because I believe that if we hold onto good values and elect leaders that are selfless and not corrupt, we will have a better country” said Mwita.

“I have these values that will help fight corruption and bring meaningful change in the country. My political campaign will be informed by three priority areas including education, water and sanitation and agriculture,” he added.

Speaking on a telephone interview while in Australia where he currently resides and works, Mr Mwita indicated that his next course of action is to travel back to Kenya and have face-to-face meetings with the locals.

“I have not lost touch with my constituents because before the Covid-19 pandemic, I used to come to Kenya and straight to Kuria East Constituency twice a year. This enabled me to meet the locals and stay in touch with their needs” he said, adding that “the Covid-19 pandemic restricted my visits to once a year but now I am coming to launch my bid and start my campaign officially.”

Mr Mwita is, however, yet to announce the party he will vie for the MP seat come the next general election.

“Currently I want to focus on my manifesto and what I want to do for my people in Kuria East.” Supporting the Need but Bright Students in Kuria East

Apart from the engagements that Makena Mwita has had with the locals in Kuria East, the youthful aspirant is already making good on his promise to address issues to do with education in the constituency. For the last three years, Mr. Mwita has been providing support to needy but bright students across the constituency to continue with their studies.

However, he acknowledges that such an approach may not be sustainable in the long-term and that is why he wants to join the National Assembly and come up with sustainable measures through legislation.

“Lasting change can only start if we change our policies as a country. I reckon that laws are made in parliament and government oversight is done in parliament. Therefore, I believe that there is so much that I can do to change my community from parliament than at an individual level” Mr Mwita indicated.

Mr. Makena Mwita believes that it is time for youths to lead and he wants to be among the fresh crop of leadership in parliament that will be focused on creating opportunities for everyone to achieve their full potential and eradicate poverty.

At the constituency level, Mr. Mwita indicated that he will focus on promoting training and development programs for the women and young people to become self-employed. This will help them overcome poverty-related challenges.