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Oparanya’s second cabinet: Key men & women to deliver legacy

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When Oparanya won a second term, it immediately became a matter of interest the caliber of  men and women would be entrusted with his legacy. The bar had already been set high by the majesty of his first term. How will the second term pan out? Ladies and gentlemen, enter Oparanya’s second cabinet – Kakamega county’s second County Executive Committe.

Truth be told, all of us are secretly in awe of and jealous of our brothers in Kakamega for having Governor Oparanya. You can blame it on the majestic beauty of Bukhungu stadium, the state of the art referral hospital under construction, paved urban access routes, have your pick. While the focus is always on the main man, the Governor wouldn’t have delivered were it not for his squad.

That’s why Oparanya’s second cabinet was ready, early, by January of 2018. By its composition, it’s clear that Governor Oparanya had his eyes focused on a larger goal. The injection of more politicians into Oparanya’s second cabinet points to an eye on the the 2022 elections. While after 2022, constitutionally, Oparanya can’t be governor no more, the question remains: what can the people expect from the men and women honored to be Kakamega County CEC?

Dr. Beatrice Makanga Sabana: Kakamega County CEC for Public Service and Administration

The immediate Kakamega county secretary, Dr. Makanga serves on the board of Maisha Microfinance Bank. A report on the official Kakamega county website lists her credentials as follows:

Dr. Makanga holds a PhD in Business Administration from University of Nairobi, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree from the University of Leeds, UK and a Bachelor of Education (Business and Economics) Degree from University of Nairobi. She has rich mix of working experience spanning across the public and private sectors as well as academia. She has worked at the National Government as a Trade Development Officer (Department of Trade), a Lecturer at JKUAT, Regional Manager at Standard Chartered Bank, Microfinance Development Specialist with Microfinance Capacity Building Programme for Africa. Dr. Makanga had a stint with United Nations as Chairperson of International Year of Microcredit and worked with Heritage Consultants Ltd as Managing Director until her joining the County Government of Kakamega.

Kakamega County Government

John Wangwe: Kakamega County CEC Water, Environment & Natural Resources

Dr George Akolo Lutomia: Kakamega County CEC for ICT, e-government & Communication

The university don’s life work whose PhD thesis was on” The influence of internal and external conflict on Public secondary school students Academic performance in Western Province Kenya.” Dr Lutomia has been in the education sector centering largely on quality improvement, guidance and counseling. Dakatari’s full CV can be found here.

Kassim Were: Kakamega County CEC for Trade, Industrialization & Tourism 

Mr. Were served as manager trade research and policy at the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In a previous morning show interview at a leading local television station, Were urged county governments to “pay suppliers. The debt locally is bigger.”  He describes himself as a specialist in international trade and econometrics, his twitter handle is @kassimwere2

Robert Makhanu: Kakamega County CEC for Social Services, Youth, Sports and Culture

The outright politician in the gang. His nomination the CEC is a classical case of having your boy’s back. The former majority leader’s closeness to Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya saw a plot hatched by then majority chief whip Loi Maviala to oust him backfire on her.

Her co-conspirators in this high stakes political game cited not wanting to betray their friends in Makhanu & Oparanya for leaving her to dry.

Not one to shy from national matters, his loyalty to the cause of his party leaders is unquestionable. Not many MCAs have the gusto to wade into national matters but not the former Kongoni ward MCA who had this to say during the heat of NASA\’s plans to have a parallel vote tallying center during the August 2018 General elections.

In western, when we take our sugarcane to Mumias, Nzoia or cereals board, you have to do you own tallying. It does not mean you don’t trust the weighbridge, but you only want to be sure.

Robert Makhanu


Initially having set his eyes on the Kakamega County Assembly speaker seat, this Oparanya confidante will have to protect ubami as the political leader of a largely ‘soft  power’ department of Kakamega County Government

Joseph Obonyo: Kakamega County CEC of Education,Science & Technology

Gossip blogs have identified a new  way to discredit a politician: splash embarrassing photos of a school in derelict state in the politicians backyard and, rightfully or wrongly, blame the state of the school on them.  It is an effective method that not only humiliates, but suggests callous greed on the part of the politician. We once carried a story of a school in Lugari that had generated public outcry on social media. It wasn’t exactly derelict, but the fact that students still had to Khumalao classrooms in the 21st century didn’t reflect well. Devolved function or not,  education remains an emotive issue. This man needs all the luck he can get.

Jacinta Aluochi Odhiambo: Kakamega County Secretary

The Office of the County Secretary could be likened to that of a chief of operations in a company. The County Secretary is the Head of the County Public Service. This makes them responsible for coordination and efficient operations of county departments. Reporting to the governor, they also serve as the secretary to the County Executive Committee.

Our Take on Oparanya’s second cabinet, his legacy Cabinet

Of the four governors of the counties that make up the former Western province, only two : Kakamega County Governor Wycliffe Oparanya and his Busia counterpart Sospeter Ojamong made it to office for a second term.

The paths to history of these two bulls couldn’t have been more different. Ojamong  is just settling into forming his new government following a hotly contested election, replete with a bruising court battle. For, Oparanya his cabinet was ready by late January. It’s clear he has his eyes focused on a larger goal given the injection of politicians into the mix.

After all, for Oparanya, the election had served as a dress rehearsal for his likely successors. That the bull from Butwere would serve a second term was never in doubt.

What we like about the new Oparanya’s second cabinet

Experience

What might be an issue

Gender balance and youth representation

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